Google brings Android One program to Nigeria, five African countries

With data offering from the mobile phone operator, MTN Google in partnership with equipment manufacturer Infinix, and online retailer Jumia, have launched the Android One program in Nigeria starting with the Infinix HOT 2-X510.

At the event that attracted capacity audience last week in Lagos, Google also announced that in coming weeks much of YouTube will be available offline in Nigeria, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya and Morocco, allowing people to store videos in the YouTube app when they are on WiFi and watch them later when they not online a great benefit for times with a slow connection or re-watching videos without using up a data plan.

Through Google Play, Android One phone users will have access to over one million apps that allow them to message friends, make video calls, socialize, check news and weather, and play games. Google apps such as Gmail, Google Maps, YouTube, Google Search, and Google Translate will come pre-loaded on the phones.

According to the promoters, this is part of an on-going initiative to bring high-quality smartphones to millions of people in Asia, Africa and other parts of the world.

Caesar Sengupta, Vice President, 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.

“ The driving force behind this growth – particularly in Nigeria and many other African countries – is smartphones. In Nigeria, over 70% of online users access the web via their phones. Android One offers high quality mobile devices that are great to use, but that are also affordable.”

Already, the devices are now available for purchase in Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Morocco and Nigeria.

The Infinix HOT 2-X510 smartphone, which is the first device to run on Android One in Africa, is now available via online retailer Jumia and at select retail outlets at relatively affordable price.

The device offers high-quality experience, running the latest version of Android 5.1 Lollipop. It will also get the new Android M release, an update that will offer Google’s new material design, improved battery life, enhanced security features, and smarter notifications.

Under the program, MTN is offering a promotion to reduce data costs for those who buy the Infinix Hot 2 Android One phone.

With an MTN SIM card, users of the Infinix Hot 2 phone will get 1GB high speed data at N500 for a 12 months period, and the latest Android platform updates for free.

In terms of hardware, the phone features front and rear-facing cameras, 1G or 2G of memory, fast quad-core MediaTek processor, long battery life and other features particularly important to Nigerians, including dual SIM slots, a FM radio tuner, 16GB on-device storage and a microSD card slot for additional storage.

Report By,

Emeka Aginam