MTN SA has launched its own affordable, simple and high-performance Android smartphone aimed at students and businesses.
The MTN Steppa smartphone features a large 3,5-inch touch screen display, FM radio, a high quality 2MP (Megapixel) camera with video recording, long battery life, world-class Internet browsing on Opera Mini. It also comes with a standard free social networking bundle for the first three months.
The MTN Steppa is based on a Qualcomm Reference Design, powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, a product of Qualcomm Technologies, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated. Powered by a Snapdragon processor, MTN Steppa delivers a superior user experience, allowing users to switch seamlessly between sophisticated applications, experience breath-taking download speeds, play the hottest games and enjoy long-lasting battery life.
The Qualcomm Reference Design program offers Qualcomm Technologies’ leading technical innovation, easy customisation options, the QRD Global Enablement Solution which features regional software packages, modem configurations, testing and acceptance readiness for regional operator requirements, and access to a broad ecosystem of hardware component vendors and software application developers.
Under the QRD program, customers can rapidly deliver differentiated smartphones to value-conscious consumers. There have been more than 350 public QRD-based product launches to date in collaboration with more than 40 OEMs in 18 countries.
The MTN Steppa smartphone is fully preloaded with a range of useful apps which will enable MTN customers to do more when chatting with friends and family, share great moments, chat constantly with their loved ones and browse the Internet using this unique smartphone.
The MTN Steppa is available in selected retail stores for R499 on MTN’s prepaid price plans. It is the most affordable smartphone in South Africa, breaking the affordability barrier of smartphones to deliver internet access and a high performance mobile phone handset to South Africans at an affordable price.
“Our challenge was not only to bring to market an affordable smartphone, but to create a device that is not complicated and which seeks to simplify things for our customers by enabling them to access the internet easier,” says Farhad Khan, chief customer sales, service and distribution officer at MTN at MTN SA.
The benefits of using an MTN Steppa smartphone include catering for the needs of customers who are trendy, confident and action oriented by providing access to social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp, Google+, Pinterest, 2go to name some of the device’s capabilities.
It also provides a free and faster web browser plus an AVG anti-virus pro which combats viruses and malware, and also provides loss and theft protection through the ability to track and control your smartphone remotely if you should you become separated from it.
“We are launching MTN Steppa not just to provide an affordable smartphone, but also to offer a smartphone that throws weight behind efforts to bridge the digital divide and help those who can’t afford high-end smartphone devices to enjoy the capabilities and opportunities presented by smart devices,” Khan says.