Today at Tech4Africa had the pleasure of meeting Vodacom CEO, Pieter Uys, in person. We had a great chat and he told me about ann exciting initiative that Vodacom was launching.
Starting today they will be selling Vodacom Branded “Smartphones” at entry level prices. Starting at R399 for the basic model, to R599 for the fully fledged model that includes a camera and QWERTY keyboard.
I think this will be interesting to see and allow everyone access to high level phones.
Here is the press release from MyBroadband:
Vodacom unveils its new smartphone range with prices starting at R399; ‘Up to 50% off’ sale launched
Vodacom today announced that it is bringing a range of new handsets to South Africa that promise to ‘revolutionise access to communications at affordable prices’.
According to Vodacom these devices give those on a budget the opportunity to experience the benefits of full communications including web access and email along with some of the gadgets like cameras and MP3 players.
Vodacom is launching three new Vodafone branded smartphones priced between R399 and R599 per month:
The VF340, priced at R399, comes equipped with Opera Mini, an FM radio, an MP3/ACC player as well as a built-in camera and changeable covers.
The VF543, priced at R499, features a touchscreen and supports email and web applications like Facebook and Twitter. It also features an FM radio, Bluetooth 2.0, and video recording capabilities.
The VF546, priced at R599, features a full QWERTY keyboard for optimised internet browsing, email, SMS, chat and a 2MP camera. The 546 is distinctive in that it offers both Zulu and Xhosa language options.
“Providing access to communications has been a key focus for Vodacom over many years, and we’re excited to be able to use our relationship with Vodafone to bring in these new handsets which really do provide revolutionary functionality at an affordable price,” said Mark Taylor, Managing Executive: Terminals, Financials and Online Services for Vodacom SA.50% discount sale
Vodacom also recently launched its ‘up to 50% off’ sale which slashes the price of its 300 MB data bundle contracts and various mobile phones on prepaid and 24 month contracts.
Some of the deals include:
300 MB data bundle and 3G capable Linkbook netbook at R99 per month on a 24 month contract
300 MB of data and a Huawei K3565 3.6 Mbps HSDPA modem for R99 per month on a 24 month contract
A Sony Ericsson W995 for R1499 on prepaid – a saving of R2400
An LG KT610 phone on a Top Up 135 package for R69 per month on a 24 month contract (saving R1440)
These ‘50% off’ deals are valid from 7 August until 6 September
One reply on “Vodacom launches entry level SmartPhones”
To whom it may concern
I bought a Vodafone vf543 and I’ve been using an mtn simmcard for a long time. I inserted the Mtn Sim on my phone but cannot access the internet. I requested both mms and wap settings for mtn, but still cannot access the internet. Everytime I open Opera Mini, it charges me and later I receive an error message ” Failed to connect to the internet”.
It seems to me that this phone in not compatiable with an MTN Sim card which I find useless. Where else some phone support all types of Sim Card. Any help????