China Unicom and Spanish telco Telefonica have announced plans to launch a low-cost 4G smartphone from Shanghai-based Chinese vendor Phicomm to key Latin American markets later this year.
The C630 is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 210-powered, LTE-enabled smartphone with a 5-inch FWVGA screen. The companies didn’t disclose the price of the smartphone but said it will be available in Latin America starting from the second quarter of the year.
In a joint statement, the companies claimed the launch of the handset was “another milestone” in their strategic global procurement collaboration program launched in 2015 for select smartphones based on share specifications.
Telefónica said the distribution deal is part of its aims to accelerate the penetration of 4G devices and services in its footprint at more affordable end-consumer price points.
For Unicom, the deal helps the telco introduce its Chinese smartphone partners to the international market through the global footprint of Telefónica.
As part of their first joint procurement project, Unicom and Telefonica last year acquired cost-effective 4G smartphones from Lenovo and TCL.
Both Unicom and Telefónica will continue expanding their collaboration in future joint common procurement activities and additional joint strategic initiatives, the companies added.