Synchronica-enabled mass-market messaging devices launched

Fast-growing handset manufacturer Mi-Fone has launched  the Mi-Q200 family of  devices which are bundled with Synchronica’s Mobile Gateway next-generation mobile messaging technology.

Launched in 2008, Mi-Fone has signed several contracts to supply their handsets to large mobile operators in the Middle East and Africa region. The brand is focused on developing aspirational, affordable handsets which are aimed at the ‘tech-savvy’ African and Indian youth market.   

Available immediately at a retail cost in the region of US$80, the Mi-Q200 QWERTY handsets are powered by Synchronica’s white-labelled Mobile Gateway infrastructure software. With Push Email, Data Synchronization, Instant Messaging and access to popular Social Networks, the Mi-Q200 family of devices provide a BlackBerry-like service at an affordable price.

Hosting fees

With 34 mobile operator customers already licensing Mobile Gateway in the Middle East and Africa, Synchronica has become a significant player in this fast-growing region. Mi-Fone is Synchronica’s first handset manufacturer customer to exclusively focus on the Middle East and Africa, and Synchronica will benefit from a monthly per user hosting fee, in addition to licence fees and a 12-month support and maintenance contract.

Mi-Fone’s Mi-Q200 family of devices are based on the popular MediaTek platform, optimized for Mobile Gateway to provide messaging services directly to the native clients found on the device. This unique approach delivers the best possible user experience with minimal memory footprint enabling Smartphone-like features even on these affordable devices.

Alpesh Patel, Founder and CEO at Mi-Fone, commented: “Synchronica’s Mobile Gateway mass-market advanced messaging solution stands out from competitive solutions because we can brand it as our own and because it allows us to deliver a great, BlackBerry-like user experience on our latest Mi-Q handset models. We expect these Synchronica-enabled devices to be a hit with the young, urban Africans that want a cool phone without an expensive price tag.”

Affordable aspiration

Carsten Brinkschulte, CEO of Synchronica, said: "As a forward-thinking device manufacturer operating in a number of high-growth, yet highly competitive emerging markets, Mi-Fone has chosen to differentiate its offering with an addictive and compelling white-label mobile messaging solution from Synchronica. We are excited to work with Mi-Fone and are looking forward to introduce a winning combination of device and service delivering affordable aspiration to the fast-growing pan-African market.”

According to the Informa report ”Africa’s Mobile Telecoms Market” (April 2010), there is tremendous potential for subscriber growth in Africa given that there were just over 450mn active subscriptions across the region at the end of 2009, a penetration rate below 45 per cent. The significant market potential in Africa is illustrated by Informa’s forecast that mobile data revenues will rise from US$4.45bn in 2009 to US$10.64bn in 2014.