Do you have a smartphone? I bet yes, what about the other members of your family? Does everyone in your household get to experience a live video chat and other convenience brought by technology? Look around you and notice that most of phone users are only able to make a simple voice call and send regular text message. Only few experience using mapping apps and even searching the web right at their fingertips.
The problem is that even entry-level smartphones still remain out of reach for many. Many people still have no access to the latest Android software and popular applications, and even where 3G and 4G networks are available, not enough people have phones that can support data and plans can be expensive.
Android One aims to tackle these problems. By partnering with phone and silicon chip makers to share design specs and manufacturing standards, they were able to build phones that are not just good phones, but also affordable. They want to bring these experiences to more people.
Android One developed an awesome recipe to come up with an affordable, yet high-quality smartphone. They used great hardware and the latest software. Android One phones have great processing power, so users can get information quickly. They have high-quality front and back cameras. Apps and videos take up storage space, so these smartphones have ample memory as well as micro-SD slot to add more. They also added features that people in the Philippines will find particularly useful, like dual SIM cards, a replaceable battery and built-in FM radio. To help ensure a consistent experience, Android One devices ship with the latest version of Android directly from Google. So you’ll get all the latest features, up-to-date security patches, and peace of mind knowing your stuff is always backed up. Android One phones in the Philippines will come with the latest and fastest version of Android (Lollipop) and will automatically update to new versions. For their hardware partners, they’ll be able to create customized experiences and differentiate their devices without having to change the core software.
Philippines on the other hand, is the second largest internet market in Southeast Asia and 6th in Asia. This year alone, it is expected that 10 million Filipinos will engage with the Internet for the first time using mobile phones. In the next 2 years, the Philippines is most likely to overtake Korea’s net population as it reaches 66% internet penetration.
Android One Program was announced here in the Philippines by Google, last February 17, 2015. Android One Program is a global initiative to bring high-quality smartphones to as many people as possible. It will go on sale in the Philippines in the coming weeks. The Philippines is the sixth country to be included in the Android One, Program, after India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia.
Google is working with two leading partners Cherry Mobile and MyPhone to bring Android One smartphones to the Philippines. The Cherry One and MyPhone Uno will be sold through retail store across the country.
Android One phones in the Philippines will come with the latest and fastest version of Android (Lollipop) and will automatically update to new versions. Android lollipop provides the fastest, most responsive Android experience ever- up to 2x better performance than the previous version. The battery saver feature can help to extend batteries by up to 90 minutes. Android’s new look, material design, has responsive natural motion, realistic lighting and shadows, and bold, edge-to-edge graphics making the experiences more beautiful. There are also quick settings to conserve data. It takes just two quick swipes to turn off data and check data usage. Android One phones also feature great hardware, like font -and rear-facing cameras as well as features particularly important to the Philippines such as dual SIM slots, an FM radio tuner, and a micro-SD card slot for additional storage.
Through Google Play, Android One phones have access to over 1 million apps that allow people to message friends, make video calls, socialize, check news and weather, and play games. Google app such as Gmail, Google Maps, YouTube, Google Search, and Google Translate come pre-loaded on the phones.
In conjunction with this launch, Smart and Sun will help Android One users get free over-the-air (OTA) updates to the Android operating system and certain amounts of app downloads from Google Play for the first six months-all without counting toward their mobile data plan. Globe will also be working with Android One users to enable better access to the internet through its robust network.
Google is also working to reduce data costs for Android One users on the Philippines. The data compression feature on Android One’s Chrome browser helps compress the amount of data flowing between the phone and the Internet. And the Philippines is one of the few countries where YouTube users can take videos offline to watch later during periods of low or no Internet connectivity. After tapping the offline icon in the Youtube app, certain videos can be played back without an Internet connection for up to 48 hours.
Ceasar Sengupta, Google Vice President of Product Management, said, “We are happy to bring Android One smartphones to the Philippines. Working with great partners like Cherry Mobile and MyPhone, we have designed and brought to market these high quality smartphones at highly affordable prices. We cannot wait to see what Filipinos do with them.”
The phones will receive updates for up to two years.
What’s next for Android One?
They continue to work globally with hardware partners such as Acer, Alcatel, Onetouch, ASUS, HTC, Intex, Lava, Lenovo, Panasonic, Xolo and chipmaker Qualcomm to build more high-quality, affordable devices with different screen sizes, colors and hardware configurations. These will be rolling out to new countries around the world.
