Obi Worldphone has launched two new Android smartphones which will target emerging markets including Pakistan and India. The mid-range Worldphone SF1 and low-end Worldphone SJ1.5 are packed in premium look and feel.
Worldphone SF1 comes in two variants with 2GB RAM and 16GB storage or 3GB RAM and 32GB storage options for $199 (Rs. ~20,000/-) or $249 (Rs. ~25,000/-) respectively. While the Obi Worldphone SJ1.5 comes with 1GB of RAM and 16GB storage for $129 (Rs. ~13,000/-).
Most importantly Obi Worldphone is the new smartphone company co-founded by John Sculley who is a former CEO of Apple and former president of Pepsi.
Obi Worldphone SF1
Obi Worldphone SF1 – named for its city of origin San Francisco, is the company’s flagship 4G/LTE smartphone which has a raised 5-inch IPS display with Gorilla Glass 4. The SF1’s is built up with the reinforced fiberglass body and metal accents at the top and bottom of the phone. The SF1 also features a 3000mAh battery, dual SIM slot with micro SD expansion.
SF1 is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor. With 2GB or 3GB RAM and 16GB or 32GB storage options this phone also features a 13 megapixel camera with Sony IMX214 Exmor sensor and hybrid auto focus through phase-detection technology. On the front it has a 5MP selfie camera.
The camera makes use of the Qualcomm ChromaFlash camera feature to quickly snap two photos – one with flash, one without. The final image takes the brightness from the one with flash and the color accuracy from the other, creating a single, well-balanced image. Users can select their focus after taking a picture through the Qualcomm UbiFocus camera feature. After the photo is taken, users can also zoom in at a resolution beyond normal digital zoom levels, with crisply detailed images powered by the Qualcomm OptiZoom camera feature.
The SF1 also features Qualcomm Quick Charge 1.0 power management technology to charge the battery to full power in less than three hours.
Obi Worldphone SJ1.5
The Obi Worldphone SJ1.5 is a 3G smartphone and is powered by the MediaTek MT6580 chipset with a 1.3GHz Quad-Core processor. The SJ1.5 has also a premium and distinctive design with squared-off top and a curved bottom. The screen with 2.5D curved glass meets with the body of the phone.
The low-end phone also features dual SIM slots, but comes only with 16 GB of internal storage and micro SD card slot. The SJ1.5 sports an 8 megapixels rear camera and a 5 megapixels front facing camera. This phone also has a 5 inch IPS display but protected by Gorilla Glass 3. SJ1.5 also has the battery capacity of 3000mAh.
The SJ1.5 is named for Silicon Valley’s other major city, San Jose.
Availability
The Obi Worldphone devices will be available starting in October in retail stores in some countries and online in others. Initially Obi Worldphone devices will reach growing markets including Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, South Africa, Pakistan, Turkey and India. The SF1 and SJ1.5 will be available in 50 to 70 high-growth countries by 2017.
Full Specifications Side by Side
| Worldphone SF1 | Worldphone SJ1.5 | |
|---|---|---|
| SoC / Processor / GPU | Qualcomm MSM8939 Snapdragon 615 Octa-core processor
Adreno 405 GPU |
MediaTek MT6580 1.3GHz 4x Cortex A7 |
| RAM | 2GB or 3GB variants LPDDR3 |
1GB |
| Internal Storage | 16GB or 32GB variants + microSD | 16GB + microSD |
| Display | 5 inch JDI display with 1080p resolution in-cell display by Japan Display Inc. Corning Gorilla Glass 4 |
5 inch IPS display 720p resolution Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Network | 2G/GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz 3G/WCDMA: 850/900/1900/2100 MHz 4G/LTE: FDD B3 1800 MHz & TDD B40 2300 MHz |
2G/GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz 3G/WCDMA/HSPA: V1 – 900/2100 MHz V2 – 850/2100 MHz |
| Dimensions | 146 x 74 x 8mm, 147g | 146 x 73 x 7.95mm, 131g |
| Camera | 13MP Rear Facing F/2.0, 1.12 micron Sony IMX2141 Exmor sensor: 1/3.06″ 5MP Front Facing |
8MP Rear Facing F/2.2, 1.4 micron OmniVision OV8865 sensor: 1/3.2″ 5MP Front Facing |
| Battery | 3000 mAh (11.4 Wh) | 3000 mAh (11.4 Wh) |
| OS | Android 5.0.2 | Android 5.1 |
| Connectivity | 5 GHz 2×2 802.11a/b/g/n + BT 4.0, USB2.0, GPS/GNSS |
2.4 GHz 802.11b/g/n + BT 4.0, USB2.0, GPS/GNSS |
| Sensors | accelerometer (gravity), proximity, magnetic, gyro, ALS (light) | accelerometer (gravity) proximity, ALS (light) |
| SIM | Dual SIM (Micro + Nano) | Dual MicroSIM |
| Price | $199 or PKR ~20,000/- (2GB/16GB) $249 or PKR ~25,000/- (3GB/32GB) |
$129 or PKR ~13,000/- |
Pre-installed applications
Both the SF1 and SJ1.5 will come pre-installed with the Android applications such as AccuWeather, Clean Master, ColorNote and Swiftkey.
