The Mobicel-branded phone, which Vodacom has described as a "cloud-based handset", is being introduced to "reduce the cost of smartphone access in the country" and to migrate more of the operator's customers to 4G.
Until now, the cheapest 4G-capable smartphones in South Africa have cost at least twice that for the most basic models.
Vodacom's new cloud-based phone, the Mobicel S4 Cloud Phone , comes standard with popular applications such as YouTube, TikTok and Facebook, all accessed via the cloud, giving users a 'smartphone lite" experience, the operator said on Tuesday. The phone does not appear to support WhatsApp, however, which could be a deal breaker for many consumers. The phone has just 48MB of RAM and 128MB of storage with a 2.8-inch screen and a 1 000mAh battery.
"The cloud phone will help customers still anchored to 2G phones and not familiar with the touch-screen experience, allowing them to appreciate a smooth transition to the data and application world," said Davide Tacchino, managing executive for terminals at Vodacom South Africa.
South Africa's mobile operators are under pressure to migrate legacy 2G and 3G users to more modern technology so the spectrum can be freed up for more advanced technologies, including 4G and 5G.
