HTC’s Desire faces up to Obi's Octopus in East Africa

HTC Mobiles has been one of the established players in the East African smartphone market, where some ripples are being created with the entry of a rather new player, Obi Mobiles, a smartphone company co-founded by John Sculley, the famous ex-CEO of Pepsi Co and Apple. Both companies offer a range of products meant for a varied set of customers. In this review, we have picked up two models - HTC’s Desire 626 and Obi’ Octopus S520 – for a comparative review with the intention to help consumers make an informed choice rather than declaring a winner. 

At the very outset, let us understand that there are as many similarities as differences between the two models, which leaves the costumers struggling with the reworking of their smartphone priorities before making a choice. We start by looking at the overall physical dimensions. If HTC’s Desire, with dimensions 146.9x70.9x8.19mm, has a bit longish sleeker look, Obi’ Octopus, with 145x75x8.4mm, gives a more broader feel. However, in both devices the screen size (5inches) and the screen resolution (720X1280 pixels) are exactly the same. This means while the dimensions invoke different visual and holding experience of the devices, which is subject to once liking, the image or movie viewing experience for the users remains the same.

One among the critical components that determine any smartphone’s performance is the processor. Obi’s Octopus, built on Android 4.4.2 Kitkat, is powered by MTK MT6592 1.7 GHz Octa Core processor, where as HTC’s Desire, which runs on Android, lags behind with a 1.2 GHz Quad Core Snapdragon 410 processor. Furthermore, HTC’s Desire comes with 1GB RAM and 16GB of internal storage that can be expanded up to 32GB via SD card support. Obi’s Octopus too comes with 1GB RAM but has an internal storage of 8GB that too can be expanded up to 32GB via SD Card Support, which makes both comparable. However, a more advanced processor in Obi’s Octopus provides it an edge at the level of user experience, as it offers quicker and smoother movement while switching between various apps.

   

However, HTC’s Desire tries to make up for the processor disadvantage at other levels, which includes camera, battery life and talk/stand by time. While HTC’s Desire has 13-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel front camera with flash, Obi’s Octopus draws its confidence with its 8-megapixel Sony IMX111 auto focus rear camera with 2.4 aperture and 2-megapixel of front camera. However, with a 2000mAh battery power, HTC’s Desire has a slight edge over Obi’s Octopus that comes with 1800mAh battery. HTC’s Desire also claims an edge over Obi’s Octopus on Talk/Stand by time. From the user point of view, the real difference reflects from the quality of pictures taken using the two devices.

Both the devices support a regular and Micro-SIM with 3G support, come with a WiFi standard support of 802.11/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 and other features like GPS facility. However, you have an option of FM Radio in Obi’s Octopus where as in HTC’s Desire it comes as a 3^rd part application. Most of all, both the smartphones also have about the same price tag in the Kenyan market, which is around KSh 25,000. In the context of the aforementioned spec-to-spec match, the consumer is left wondering about making a choice between a device that promises high performance making time lag a thing of past and a device that claims to last longer. Of course, the choice is yours.

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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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