KaiOS Technologies has announced that six new partners in Africa will launch mobile phones running on its smartphone operating system, KaiOS
The six new partners to deliver affordable smart feature phones running on KaiOS in Africa are Bomare in Algeria, Accent in Morocco, Condor in Algeria, Eric Beare Associates, a Hong Kong-based company operating in Egypt, South Africa and other African markets, Maya Global Network, operating across Africa, particularly in Kenya and Tanzania and Sico in Egypt.
In a statement, the company stated that mobile phones running on its smartphone operating system form a new category of phones that combine the affordability of a feature phone with the essential features of a smartphone.
Sebastien Codeville, CEO of KaiOS Technologies, said, “Our mission is to close the digital divide by bringing advanced digital services to the billions of people who are still without internet.”
“Traditional smartphones are too expensive for large parts of the population in the markets. We’re really excited to see a broad range of affordable devices reach millions of people who were previously unconnected through these new partnerships,” he added.
These new smart feature phones will be available for direct purchase by end-users with their own SIM cards or as part of bundled packages with local mobile network operators. From Q2 2019, they will be placed on the market through distribution agreements with the following partners.
The operating system is based on open web technologies such as HTML5 and supports 3G and 4G/LTE, Wi-Fi, GPS and NFC. KaiOS explained that the devices running on the operating system will require little memory while still offering a rich user experience through access to apps such as Google Assistant, YouTube, Facebook, Google Maps and Twitter.
