MTN has introduced a low-cost tablet - the Steppa Tablet - and upgraded its sub-R500 smartphone to Steppa 2.
Speaking during a media event in Rosebank this morning, Mike Fairon, general manager for products, services and innovation at MTN, said pricing for the devices will be made official on 26 November, after the telco analyses market conditions as the festive season approaches.
Fairon also noted the unveiling of the devices is an indication of MTN's strategy in the smartphone and tablet arena as it seeks to make the Internet more accessible to emerging markets.
He pointed out the devices were introduced to respond to the challenges within the device ecosystem, especially affordability.
"The Steppa is the most affordable smartphone on the market," said Fairon. "Currently, it is the number-two selling smartphone in South Africa."
MTN unveiled its first-generation Steppa smartphone, a 3.5-inch Android device, in January. Fairon said, due to the high demand of the device, the first batch of 200 000 units was sold out in the first two months.
The Steppa 2 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. It comes with a 5MP rear camera as well as a VGA front camera. It also has a 1 500mAH battery.
Another speaker at the event, Dominique Friedl, business development director at Qualcomm, said when the battery needs recharging, Qualcomm Quick Charge 1.0 maximises the power delivered to the devices' battery, charging up to 40% faster than devices without Quick Charge 1.0.
With the introduction of the Steppa Tablet, Fairon said MTN is mostly targeting students in emerging markets, and the device will come pre-loaded with apps like Dictionary, Wikipedia and Amazon Kindle. These apps make it a great education tool for schoolchildren and students who need access to online learning materials, he added.
"Users can read free books on their tablet, buy books instantly, research any topic they are reading about and download additional education-related apps from the Google Play Store. There are about 180 million students in emerging markets and they can further their education with mobile technology," he said. "For education, the tablet is the new laptop."
The tablet is a seven-inch device also powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. It comes with 1GB of RAM and a 4G storage capacity. The tablet runs Google's Android 4.4 Kit Kat with a display of 1 024x600 pixels. It also features the Qualcomm Quick Charge 1.0.
MTN says, bundled with 200MB data for 12 months, the Steppa Tablet brings the Internet to students and learners, entrepreneurs on the go and consumers looking for an affordable, high-performance alternative to a PC or laptop.
"Access to e-mail, search functionality, online banking and all other benefits of mobile computing meet in the Steppa Tablet," said Fairon. "The tablet combines features and affordability, and because it comes with a competitive data package, we continue delivering on our promise of delivering Internet access to consumers."
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