Obi Worldphone announce two premium build Android smartphones
Obi Worldphone is a new brand in the world of smartphones. It would’ve been ‘just another smartphone maker’ but, this company is headed by John Scully who is a former CEO of Apple Inc. SF1 and SJ1.5 are the two Android running smartphones from Obi and will be available in Asia, Africa and Middle East markets starting in October. SF1 and SJ1.5 have industrial design, has integrated hardware and tech from the likes of Dolby, Sony, Corning, Japan Display Inc, Samsung etc.
SF1 is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 chip and has a 5” FullHD display from Japan Display Inc. The 16GB/2GB version will cost $199 and 32GB/3GB variant will cost $249. SF1 has a 13mp rear camera and the 5mp front facing camera has LED flash to get high quality selfies. SJ1.5 on the other hand is powered by MediaTek MT6580 chip, has 5” 720p resolution display, has 8mp rear camera and 5mp front facing camera. There is only one variant of SJ1.5 and is priced at $129.
“Over the next three years 1 billion users will upgrade from low-end, starter smartphones to models with more power and greater functionality,” said Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies, Inc. of San Jose, Calif., a 35-year market analyst and research firm evaluating the global adoption of consumer technology. “The Obi Worldphone no-compromise design and aggressive pricing makes it very appealing to this audience as the market for smartphones expands and the upgrade market for smartphones accelerates.”
“Obi has taken the best of Silicon Valley – innovations in design, state-of-the-art technology and high standards for manufacturing – and fused them into beautiful, powerful tools at attractive prices,” Sculley said. “Our efficient cost structure and broad distribution combine to present empowering tools that help our customers achieve their aspirations.”
“With Obi we set out to create beautiful, original smartphones that go beyond consumers’ expectations. From concept through to manufacturing, we’ve paid incredible attention to quality, materials and engineering to achieve the highest level of design,” Brunner said. “We’ve obsessed over every detail of the Obi experience – from industrial design, user interface and packaging – to deliver inspiring products that overturn the misconception that great design has to come at a high price.”
SF1 Specifications
- Aesthetics – Unibody with metallic accents and floating (“raised”) glass display
- Operating System – Android OS version 5.0.2 Lollipop
- Communication – Easy-access, dual SIM (Micro and Nano), Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual band, Wi-Fi direct. Bluetooth – v4.0, A2DP. GPS – A-GPS/ GLONASS. USB – microSB v2.0
- Sound – Dolby Audio™ with 7.1 discrete channels of high-fidelity surround sound. Dual microphone for noise-cancellation
- Primary Camera – 13 megapixels, automatic focus with LED flash powered by the Sony IMX214 Exmor™ sensor, f/2.0 aperture with Geo-tagging, touch focus, face/smile detection, panorama, and high dynamic range (HDR). Video 1080p@30fps. UbiFocus™, Chroma Flash™ and OptiZoom™ are special features of this camera.
- Secondary Camera – 5 megapixels with LED flash
- Processor – Qualcomm® MSM8939 Snapdragon™ 615 with1.5 GHz Octa Core with Adreno 405 GPU
- Display – 5-inch full, high-definition in-cell display by Japan Display Inc. (JDI). Full high definition (1080 x 1920 pixels), 443 ppi
- Cover Glass – Scratch definition resistant Corning® Gorilla® Glass 4
- Coating – Anti-fingerprint oleophobic coating by Top Touch
- Networks – GPRS/EDGE/WCDMA/HSPA+/4G/LTE
- Memory – Samsung 3 GB RAM and 32 GB internal storage, expandable up to an additional 64 GB with micro SD. Also available in 2GB RAM and 16 GB internal storage expandable up to an additional 64 GB with micro SD
- Battery – Quick-charge, 3,000 milliamp hours (mAh) lithium polymer (Li-Po)
- Sensors – accelerometer (gravity), proximity, magnetic, gyro, ALS (light)
- Price – $199 USD for 16 GB/2GB version, and $249 USD for 32 GB/3GB version
SJ1.5 Specifications
- Aesthetics – Polycarbonate body with curved touch panel and dynamic use of color
- Operating System – Android OS version 5.1 Lollipop
- Communication – Easy-access, dual SIM, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth v4.0, A2DP, GPS and micro USB 2.0
- Primary Camera – 8 megapixels, automatic focus OV8865 sensor and flash. f/2.2 aperture
- Secondary Camera – 5 megapixels, f/2.2 aperture
- Networks – GSM/HSPA/3G
- Processor – MediaTek MT6580, 1.3GHz Quad Core processor
- Display – 5″ high-definition (1280 x 720 pixels), in-plane switching (IPS) full lamination screen for accurate color at any angle
- Cover Glass – Scratch-resistant Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3
- Coating – Anti-fingerprint oleophobic coating by Top Touch
- Memory – Samsung 1 GB RAM and 16 GB internal storage; expandable up to an additional 32 GB with micro SD
- Battery – 3,000 milliamp hours (mAh) lithium polymer (Li-Po)
- Sensors – accelerometer (gravity) proximity, ALS (light)
- Price – $129 USD
