Can Lenovo’s colourful RocStar outsmart Obi’s Fox?

Kenya’s smartphone market is becoming more competitive with the entry of new players. Obi Mobiles, co-founded by JohnSculley, ex-CEO of Pepsi Co and Apple, is the new entrant in the Kenyan smartphone market with its eight smartphone models, which are starting to attract attention in the market. On the other hand, the well known global brand, Lenovo, has been in Kenyan market for a while with its impressive range of smartphone models. As part of our daily reviews, we have picked up Lenovo’s RocStar A319 and Obi’s Fox S453 to see how they compare with each other.

We start with the design of the two smartphone models. Both the devices have a similar concept with a bar design and a three touch keys on the bottom. While Obi’s Fox is available only in white colour, Lenovo’s RocStar comes in red, white and black variants. Furthermore,  Lenovo’s RocStar gives a broader feel with 123.5x63.8x10.2mm dimensions, but Obi’s Fox with 131.7x64x9.0mm dimensions has a bit longish and sleeker look. However, the main difference lies in the display screen size which is 4.5inches in case of Obi’s Fox and 4inches in case of Lenovo’s RocStar. Both the devices have a capacitive touch screen. Needless to say that a larger screen is always a plus from the point of view of viewing experience. It particularly acquires more significance for the youth where video viewing on the smartphone is becoming everyday part of their lives.

Both the devices are powered by MediaTek MT6572 dual core processor, however, Obi’s Fox is 1GHz and Lenovo’s RocStar is 1.3GHz. However, Fox’s OS Android 4.4.2 KitKat is slightly improved version over RocStar’s OS Android 4.4 KitKat. Both the devices have internal storage space of 4GB that can be expanded up to 32GB using a MicroSD card. However, the major difference between the two is RAM where Lenovo’s RocStar comes with 512MB RAM and Obi’s Fox is just double 1GB RAM. Extra RAM helps apps run smoother with reduced time lags, but when coupled with a better processor, it enhances overall quality of user interface and experience.

Obi’s Fox has a leg up on the battery front too. With 1600 mAh battery size Fox gives 6 hours of talk time and 180 hours of standby time while, on the other hand, Lenovo’s RocStar has 1500 mAh battery that gives 3 hours of talk time and 240 hours of standby time. Furthermore, both the devices have 5 megapixel rear cameras with flash with flash and 2 megapixel front cameras with a fixed focus. The cameras of the two devices are moderate considering the price range. As far as connectivity is concerned both the devices have Wi-Fi with 802.11 b/g/n standards supported. Both the devices also have a dual sim card slots, however, Obi’s Fox supports 3G on both SIM slots whereas Lenovo’s RocStar supports 3G in primary sim and 2G on the other. Both the devices have Bluetooth, GPS, 3.5 mm audio jack and FM receiver.

The price difference between the two is rather small. In the Kenyan market, while Obi’s Fox is priced at around KSh 9000, Lenovo’s RocStar is at around KSh 7500. Slightly higher price in case of Obi’s Fox seems justified on account of three major advantages over Lenovo’s RocStar, which include a lager display screen, larger battery life and, most of all, double RAM contributes towards enhancing the viewing experience. However, in every other respect the two models are comparable, with Lenovo’s RocStar having the advantage of three colour variants.

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Obi Mobiles enters Africa with its animal series smartphones

Obi Mobiles, co-founded by John Sculley, the former CEO of Pepsi Cola and Apple, has recently entered the Africa smartphone market with an interesting range of smartphone models named after animal names. Obi is the latest entrant in the East Africa’s mobile market, starting with Kenya and Tanzania. Considering the options available in the market to choose from, Obi distinguishes itself with its Silicon Valley lineage. 

This series of Obi smartphones are particularly aimed at young people. “The youth all over the world sees smartphones as expression of their personality and an extension of themselves”, says Sculley. The story shall be no different in Africa where, where young people are keen to associate themselves with beautifully designed, high quality smartphones. Various models are interestingly named after animals such as Racoon S401, Fox S453, Wolverine S501, Leopard S502, Octopus S520, Crane S550, Hornbill S551 and Power GO F240 and come on attractive price points. The devices are more than your regular smart phones. They are stylishly smart.

Sculley personally attended the Nairobi launch. Apart from the launch event, a cultural ceremony was held to ordain Sculley as an elder of the famous Massai tribe of Kenya, which was an interesting way to establish a cultural contact with the people. Sculley also announced that his venture capital firm Obi Ventures would invest in select East African entrepreneurs, and that he would extend Obi Ventures to other countries in the regions as the brand established itself. Understandably Obi Mobiles has tied up with DESPEC, a leading distributor in EMEA, to handle the dictribution of obi devices to key retailers in the region.

There was a buzz that Obi Mobiles is soon going to launch its next series of smartphones that are expected to offer a combination of state of the art technology, superior specifications and some exceptionally innovative designs.

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