Local mobile operator Vodacom today officially announced the pricing for a range of budget smartphones aimed at the low-end consumer. 

 

Earlier this year TechSmart reported that the operator was gearing up to release two low-cost smartphone models to the South African market. These were the  ZTE Vodafone 546 (Laurence) and the touch based Vodafone VF543.

 

Vodacom will now release a third model within this family of devices, namely the Vodafone VF340, expected to retail for R399. The handset features an FM radio, a MP3/ACC player as well as a built-in camera and the Opera Mini mobile browser. 

 

The ZTE Vodafone 543, expected to retail for R499, features a 2.2” TFT display with a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels, a 2 Megapixel camera, microSD support, 236.8 kbps EDGE and GPRS connectivity, Bluetooth 2.1 and WAP. Also included is an MP3 player, FM radio, organizer, voice memo and a speakerphone. It is expected to retail for R499. 

 

The VF456, which will retail for R699, will feature a full QWERTY keyboard and a 2 Megapixel camera.

 

“Providing access to communications has been a key focus for Vodacom over many years, and we’re excited to be able to use our relationship with Vodafone to bring in these new handsets which really do provide revolutionary functionality at an affordable price,” said Mark Taylor, managing executive: Terminals, Financials and Online Services for Vodacom SA.

 

No concrete details as to when these devices will be made available have yet been given.