Now There's A UMNO Branded Smartphone In The Market, Auspiciously Priced RM888
The handset displays the UMNO logo upon startup and also has a UMNO wallpaper.
By Sadho Ram — 12 Dec 2015, 01:37 PM
At the ongoing 2015 UMNO General Assembly, Chili Mobile, a Cyberjaya-based start-up, unveiled a UMNO branded Android smartphone for party members and sympathisers. The unusual, if not interesting, UMNO smartphone for sale is priced at an auspicious RM888 and is available in two colours: black and white.
Chili Mobile founder Abdul Rahim Mohammad posing with the Umno smartphone at his booth.
Image via Kamles Kumar/Malay Mail OnlineAccording to technology portal Amanz.my, the smartphone boots up with an Umno logo and the party's symbol is also reflected on the phone's wallpaper. Furthermore, the back of the phone also carries the Umno logo.
The design was developed by Chili Mobile in cooperation with the science, technology and innovation ministry and the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida).
malaysiakini.com
Equipped with a 5.5 inch HD IPS screen, 16GB of storage space, 2GB RAM, 2500mAh battery and running on a Quad-core processor, the 4G LTE-capable dual-sim handset is apparently a hit
Nearly 800 units have been sold in just three days, with further orders pending, Chili Mobile founder and CEO Abdul Rahim Mohammad said.
"I got an order of 1,500 units because Umno branches ordered in the hundreds for their members," he told Malaysiakini yesterday.
Chili Mobile, which claims to be the country's first customisable phone maker, said the smartphone is not exclusive to UMNO
The design is not exclusively for Umno as the model is meant to allow corporations, government-linked companies and other organisations to have mobile phones with their own branding. The company specialises in customisable smartphones, which allow organisations to use their own brand in the devices and in this case, Umno.
malaysiakini.com
The company simply took advantage of their customisable platform to create a special phone for the country’s largest political party at its annual assembly in an enterprising effort to boost its sales.
“It is Umno’s convention, so I do (sic) it for Umno. If tomorrow is PAS’ convention, I will do it for PAS also. I’m not a politician. I am a businessman, so I take the opportunity when I can,” he said when met at his booth located on level three of the Putra World Trade Centre, where the Umno assembly is taking place.
themalaymailonline.com
Speaking to Malaysiakini, Abdul Rahim said that if this was a Samsung smartphone, the price would be around RM2,200, RM2,300. Since there is no middleman involved with Chilli Mobile, the UMNO smartphone is priced at RM888, making it a steal.
The Umno smartphone has been customised to show the Umno logo on its boot screen, lock screen and home screen. It also has a back cover with the party logo imprinted.
Image via Kamles Kumar/Malay Mail Online"If they buy 100 units, I give RM788 each, and if they buy 1,000 units, I will give them RM688 each," he said. Abdul Rahim said he had also started exporting the customisable smartphones overseas, with 1,000 units going to Tunisia and another 1,000 units going to Saudi Arabia.
"I don't do retail; I concentrate on niche market," he said.
malaysiakini.com
The customisable smartphone project was backed by a grant of RM6 million from the Science, Technology, and Innovation Ministry
The responses were mixed, though many were largely supportive of the idea of a locally-made customisable smartphone while others poked fun at the possible features the phone might contain, and yet others who were sceptical it would take off.
themalaymailonline.com