Handsets for the multitude

MyPhone and Cherry Mobile will have to make room for a new player in the mobile handset market catering to the masses. Olive Telecom is an Indian company that offers dual SIM handsets retailing for P1,500 to P4,000.

To differentiate itself from other affordable handset makers, Olive Telecom doesn’t outsource its products from OEMs [original equipment manufacturer] in China, where generic phones are produced. The Indian company has its own research development facility.

According to Olive Telecom country manager Janis Nathalie Legaspi-Racpan, the company has four innovation labs in China and India, and its products are manufactured by known OEMs for branded consumer electronics such as Haier, Foxconn and Flextronics.

Based in India, Olive Telecom has gained a foothold in 24 countries and sold over 20 million devices worldwide since its inception in 2006.

Its product portfolio includes WCDMA, CDMA, GSM and EV-DO mobile handsets, mobile computing devices, advanced data modems and devices for wireless broadband.

In India, Olive also successfully launched that country’s first hybrid mobile phone, the first 3G embedded netbook, the first triple SIM qwerty mobile phone, the first 3G music USB modem, and the first pocket router, according to Legaspi-Racpan.

The company is optimistic that Filipino consumers will favor its handsets because of the low prices and features, Legaspi-Racpan added.

In its initial foray to the Philippine market, the company will introduce seven phone models, which include touchphones and qwerty phones.

The V-G1100 Olive Compacta is the “mobile phone for everyone.” It is affordably-priced and fits easily into any pocket.

The V-G8000 Olive Messenger is a quick-action qwerty phone with a wide 2.2-inch TFT LCD display, 400-hour standby battery time and FM radio.

The V-G3200 Lumen is a dual SIM phone with expandable memory of up to 4GB, built-in camera, a flashlight, a stereo FM radio and Bluetooth.

The V-G3100 Olive Superb is another dual-SIM phone that boasts of a 300-hour standby time and 6 hours talk time. It has an expandable memory of up to 2 GB, a built-in camera, flashlight and digital media player.

The ultra slim qwerty phone V-G800 Olive Buzz also has dual-SIM capability, a 2-megapixel camera, a 2.4-inch wide display screen and memory expandable to 8 GB.

Olive’s touchphones include the V-G700 Olive Ark and the V-G70 Olive Atom.

The dual SIM V-G700 Olive Ark comes with a 3-inch full-touch display screen, a 2-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, FM radio with recording MP3 player, video recorder/player, plus other mobile applications, such as Opera Mini and Ozone for E-mail, and supports up to 4GB memory through its microSD card.

The V-G70 Olive Atom also boasts of the same specifications as its V-G700 sibling except for its Wi-Fi function.

“All our handsets are fully featured quality devices. The digital divide is still a challenge, but the arrival of affordable smartphones and tablets may bridge this gap. More choices are needed by our consumers,” said Legaspi-Racpan.