Obi Worldphone

Obi Worldphone
Private
Industry Telecommunications equipment
Founded 2014
Founders John Sculley Nitin pujani
Headquarters San Francisco, California, U.S.
Area served
Saudi Arabia, Latam, Thailand, United Kingdom, Vietnam
Products Obi SF1 (2015)
Obi SJ1.5 (2015)
Obi MV1 (2016)
Obi Lifespeed
Number of employees
70 [1]
Website Official website

Obi Worldphone, previously Obi Mobiles, is a Silicon Valley smartphone manufacturer founded in 2014 by former Apple Inc. and PepsiCo CEO John Sculley. Obi Worldphone manufactures smartphones aimed at the emerging markets[2] rather than very competitive developed markets.[3][4]

Obi Worldphone launched two of their pioneer low cost smartphones on August 27, 2015.[5] Both models are based upon Android as their operating system.[5] Their third phone, the MV1, was announced in February 2016, and was released to Asian, African, Latin American and European markets in March 2016.[6][7]

History

In 2014, former Apple CEO John Sculley saw a gap in the market for well-designed budget handsets.[8] John got in contact with former Director of Industrial Design, Robert Brunner (now a co-founder of Ammunition Design Group) who came up with the raised screen design found on all Obi smartphones. Ammunition subsequently designed the chassis and operating system skin the phones run on, "Obi Lifespeed".[9]

Products

SF1

Launched on August 27, 2015, this phone with a raised 5-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 1080 pixels by 1920 pixels at a PPI of 443 pixels per inch (PPI).[10] The phone comes with a self-developed fork of the Android Operating System called "Obi Lifespeed".[9][11] The device also features Dolby Audio multi-channel audio, noise cancellation, and utilizes a Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor, a Adreno 405 GPU, and a 3000 mAh battery. It can access 4G networks. The device comes in 32GB + 3GB / 16GB + 2GB (respectively Storage and RAM) combinations,[11] and a choice of black or white. The initial retail price for the device is $199 and comes unlocked.[12]

SJ1.5

This device was launched at the same time as the SF1, and also has a 5-inch touchscreen display, however a lower resolution, lack of 4G, and lack of some luxuries lends this phone a cheaper $129 retail price.[12] The device comes in red.

Partnerships

In 2016, Obi Worldphone partnered with Skullcandy in Vietnam to give away prizes with every pair of earbuds they sell, as part of their "Obi Worldphone Experience Day (NGÀY HỘI TRẢI NGHIỆM Obi Worldphone).[13]

Awards

In 2015, Obi Worldphone's SF1 was voted the 5th best smartphone available in Vietnam in VNExpress' "TechAwards 2015" (Sản phẩm Công nghệ xuất sắc 2015).[14][15][16]

See also

References

  1. Orlowski, Andrew (2016-04-27). "Ex-Apple gurus' elusive Android phone coming to UK next month". The Register. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
  2. "Former Apple CEO John Sculley-backed Obi Worldphone launches sleek sub-$250 smartphones". androidcentral.com. 2015-08-27. Retrieved 2015-08-27.
  3. Bajarin, Tim (2015-08-31). "Apple's Former CEO Built a Very Impressive Cheap New Phone". Time Inc. Retrieved 2015-09-02.
  4. Goldman, David (August 27, 2015). "Former Apple CEO John Sculley debuts new smartphone". CNN. Time Warner. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
  5. 1 2 Curry, David (2015-08-26). "Former Apple CEO John Sculley launches two low-cost Android Smartphones". Digital Trends. Retrieved 2015-08-31.
  6. "Obi Worldphone MV1 detailed specifications". Retrieved 2016-05-23.
  7. Tung, Liam (2016-02-23). "Ex-Apple CEO's Obi Worldphone launches $149 Android MV1 smartphone". ZDNet. Retrieved 2016-05-23.
  8. Pearce, James (2016-05-09). "Former Apple execs aim to fill "gap in market" with Obi WorldPhone". Mobile News CWP. Retrieved 2016-05-23.
  9. 1 2 "Beautifully designed smartphones for the world's fastest growing markets". Retrieved 2016-04-29.
  10. "Obi Worldphone SF1 detailed specifications". Retrieved 2016-04-29.
  11. 1 2 "SF1". Obi Worldphone. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
  12. 1 2 Brownlee, John (2015-08-26). "How Ammunition And Apple's Ex-CEO Plan To Disrupt The "Design Center" Of The Smartphone World". Co.Design. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
  13. "OBI WORLDPHONE EXPERIENCE DAY". Obi Worldphone. 2016-03-16. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
  14. "Obi Worldphone vào top 5 điện thoại tốt nhất 2015". VnExpress. 2016-01-14. Retrieved 2016-05-12.
  15. "Top 5 điện thoại xuất sắc của Tech Awards 2015". VnExpress. 2016-01-13. Retrieved 2016-05-12.
  16. "Obi Worldphone - OBI WORLDPHONE SF1 VINH DANH TOP 5 TECH AWARDS 2015 HẠNG MỤC ĐIỆN THOẠI". Obi Worldphone. 2016-01-12. Retrieved 2016-05-12.


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