First African-Designed Tablet And Smartphone Products Released

SmartPlanet’s Dave Mayers reports that VMK, based in the African Republic of Congo, is offering the world’s first African designed mobile consumer electronics products, its Way-C tablet and Elikia smartphone.

The Way-C is roughly the size of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab, measuring measures 7.4 x 6.7 x 0.5 inches and weighing 13.4 ounces. Wi-Fi connectivity and 4GB of internal memory come standard, and selling for $300, it’s cheaper than the iPad mini.

The Android-based Elikia has a 3.5-inch display, rear and forward facing cameras, 512MB of RAM, a 650MHz processor, and retails for $170 without a contract.

Both products are manufactured in China, and Coleman observes that much of the marketing behind the Elikia and the Way-C appear to flatter Apple’s marketing of its counterpart products.

A Tablet Computer, From Congo

The South African TechCentral site notes that Congo-Brazzaville – based VMK’s Android tablet is the first tablet computer designed and engineered on the African continent, with a 1.2GHz processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of internal memory and Wi-Fi support, and running version 2.3.3 of Google’s Android operating system with a distinct user interface called Kongo.

According to VMK CEO Vrone Mankou, who is cited explaining that while VMK tried to keep its tablet as African as possible, it couldn’t be assembled there, so that part of the process has been outsourced to China, and that while the VMK tablet is designed for emerging markets, it will be available globally.

For more information, visit VMK’s Website at:
http://www.vmktech.com/

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