A Slice Of
Apple, With A Twist
anslate
The
new Obi Worldph
one
will give you the experience of an iPhone for much cheaper
THE
HEADLINE for this column may have you surprised. The most iconic company in the
world of technology, one that makes the most high-end gadgets and phones and
guards the price line with brute force – has actually made an economy
smartphone? Apple and ‘economy’ in the same sentence is a complete oxymoron,
right? Well, you are right and wrong. Yes, Apple would never make an economy
phone and yes, they just did! In a manner of speaking.
This
is a story that is both intriguing and captivating. There are lots of players,
lots of interesting characters and a plotline that has many ups and down. So
pay attention. Let us meet the characters first.
APPLE’S OWN
The
former CEO of Apple, John Sculley, who fired Steve Jobs from his own company
and, at one point won the cola wars as the global CEO of Pepsi, comes first.
Character number two, Robert Brunner, was head of design at Apple. He designed
the PowerBook, the Newton messaging device, the Twentieth Anniversary Mac and
pretty much everything else. He also hired and trained Sir Jonathan Ive, Chief
Design Officer at Apple and the designer of the first (and every subsequent)
iPhone. Brunner has also designed iconic products such as the Beats Headphones.
Now, let’s introduce a true maverick into the game. Satjiv Chahil, the former
Chief Marketing Officer of Apple, who set up some of its biggest endorsement
deals across the world (with people such as Peter Gabriel, Claudia Schiffer and
Vivienne Tam), returns to the game with Sculley and Brunner. So, what did these
three do when they got back together? They created a world phone. They’ve made
a phone that Apple would have made, if it ever made an economy phone.
ONE
FOR THE WORLD
This
is the Obi Worldphone and it was announced at a glittering event in San
Francisco. The idea is simple. In a cut-throat mid and economy smartphone
market, every phone looks the same, has almost identical specs and hardware and
has, in essence, become a commodity. The three former Apple bigwigs decided to
cut through the clutter with a phone that is designed from used materials, but
with specs that were equivalent to a top-of-the-line $700 flagship phone. The
larger idea was world domination. This wasn’t a phone for one country or two.
This was a phone that would be launched in 70 countries. In theory and as
stories go, this is a good one. Unfortunately, the world of technology has this
habit of taking real good tales and turning them into a horror stories. Good
intentions, great dreams, incredible talent and respectable legacies are all
very well, but eventually it’ll come down to the actual product. So, let’s take
a look at the Obi Worldphone SF1 and see if this one can actually achieve all
its very lofty goals.
SAN
FRANCISCO 1
The
SF (San Francisco) 1 starts off well. It’s a 4G LTE phone with a unibody shell,
metallic highlights and a raised, full-HD 1920x1080p floating glass display. In
design, it is a winner. It also has Corning Gorilla Glass 4, Android 5.0.2
Lollipop with the added Obi Lifespeed UI, 64-bit octa-core Qualcomm processor
and an add-on microSD card slot. Optics are boosted with a 13MP autofocus
camera with a Sony Exmor sensor, a 5MP front camera with LED flash, 3000mAh
battery, dual mic for noise cancellation, Dolby Audio Surround 7.1 and Quick
Charge 1.0 for fast charging. So, it does seem to have achieved its objective.
It’s a clutter-breaking design and has heavy-duty specs at a price of about
$200.
But
this is where the story takes an even more intriguing turn. While it may well
be sold in 70 countries, the real make-or-break test for any smartphone is
right here on our shores. India and China will determine whether the Obi
Worldphone will actually dominate the world.
PLAYING WITH THE
BIG BOYS
Once
this phone gets launched in India (rumours suggest it should be here by
October), it will take on some serious contenders with the same price point.
These include the Lenovo K2 Note (already considered the best in its class),
Xiaomi with its Mi series which has multiple contenders, the Asus Zenphone
which also has models that rule the market, Motorola (with its unbeatable next
generation, G), and Micromax’s Yu. Apart from these, Coolpad is a new
aggressive player, Gionee has a new trick up its sleeve, and half a dozen other
Chinese giants are taking the game to new heights. Within a market this brutal,
can the Obi Worldphone achieve a breakthrough? Well, the former Apple Army of
Sculley, Brunner and Chahil seems to think so.
Rajiv
Makhni Rajiv Makhni is managing editor, Technology, NDTV, and the anchor of
Gadget Guru, Cell Guru and Newsnet 3
HTBR6SEP15
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