We’re not all looking to spend top dollar for a new phone, and a recent arrival to the phone market looks keen to make that possible, getting in below $100.
Almost everyone has a phone, but if you don’t, it might be because of the cost. Phones have dropped in price significantly over the years, however, and have heavily eroded the market and availability of what we called the “feature phone”, also known as the “dumb phone”.
Essentially, any phone without apps, internet browsing, and basically functions as phone, messaging, and possibly radio is a dumb phone. Smartphone can install apps, surf the internet, check and write emails, take pictures, and do more, and they’ve really made a dent on the phone market, so much that they’re now found everywhere.
Smartphones can be found across pretty much every price point, including spending very little at all.
A recent entrant into the local phone market is looking to get in on that area this month, offering a $99 phone.
Coming from the relatively unknown player of Aspera Mobile, the Jazz 2 is definitely a phone geared at budgets, delivering the bare minimum of what a smartphone will offer for a buck under a hundred.
You probably shouldn’t expect the phone to be a competitor to the iPhone, and armed with 16GB storage, a low 1GB RAM, and a quad-core MediaTek MT6739 processor, the Aspera Jazz 2 won’t be a speed demon. Not by a long shot.
However it does aim to get 4G on a budget, and do so with support for two SIM slots, bringing Android 9.0 “Pie” Go to a 4.95 inch screen alongside Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS, and two cameras, a 2 megapixel camera up front and a 5 megapixel camera on the back.
Aspera Mobile has already hinted that the screen is a type of panel that may not offer the best viewing angles, with the Aspera Jazz 2 using what’s called a “TN” panel, also known as a Twisted Nematic. A bit of jargon, this technology isn’t known for great viewing angles, so you can expect vivid colour from all angles to likely be missing in action.
That said, the $99 price point could be enough to win some people over, especially since it sports 4G for just under a hundred dollars.
“The Jazz 2 meets all the requirements of the cost conscious buyer and user in a 4G dual-SIM smartphone that runs Android and has all the regular features you would wish for,” said Allan Robertson, Managing Director of Aspera Mobile.
The Aspera Mobile Jazz 2 4G can be found at Big W, Harvey Norman, MobileCiti, Retravision, and BP locations across the country.
