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MTN, Infinix launch first Android One smartphone in Africa

The Infinix Hot 2 will go on sale in Africa today, it will be available in Nigeria through Jumia (online retailer), and a number of physical stores across the country. The company’s budget-focused stock Android smartphones are heading to six countries in Africa, though for now there’s only one available handset.

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Android One represents Google’s push to lower the prices of smartphones in less developed parts of the world where computers are considered a luxury.

Google has announced that they are launching their first Android One device in Africa, the handset is called the Infinix Hot 2 and it is now available in Nigeria, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco and Kenya. It sports dual-SIM slots, a quad-core MediaTek processor, a FM radio tuner, and 16GB internal memory.

Google also keeps Android One phones updated with newest versions of Android. The smartphone measures 145 x 71.86 x 8.8 mm and is available in five colors, including blue, red, black, and white, with the Gold flavor being reserved for the premium model. Finally, Google is extending YouTube offline to Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and Egypt in the coming months. This is similar to what already exists in the main YouTube mobile app in India.

Caesar Sengupta, VP Product Management at Google said “Today, over three billion people across the world are using the internet to live better, richer lives and create opportunities for themselves and their communities”. In Nigeria, over 70% of online users access the web via their phones.

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As an Android One device, the Infinix HOT 2 runs vanilla Android 5.1 Lollipop and promises an automatic upgrade to the next version of Android (known as Android M). Android One offers high quality mobile services that are great to use, but that are also affordable. For $87 we’d say the HOT 2 offers a lot of value for money and could be a very decent starting point for prospective customers who lack experience with smartphones.

Google Partners with Infinix in Africa to Launch Android One Mobile