MTN has started to roll out its new Smart S 3G phone across all of its African markets, including South Africa. The device was announced in November 2018 as a partnership between MTN, Unisoc, KaiOS and China Mobile. The phone runs the KaiOS operating system, which is a lightweight Linux-based OS for 'smart' feature phones. Sales have started also in Rwanda and Nigeria.
MTN Nigeria calls the phone the MTN Smart. It comes with two cameras, a 2-day battery life with 2,000mAh battery, the SC7731EF processor, 2.4-inch screen, 256MB RAM and 512MB of storage. The MTN Smart is available in all MTN stores across Nigeria for NGN 8,000 and comes with 500MB monthly data free the first six months.
The phone does not have as many features as a standard Android smartphone, but it is significantly cheaper and still supports popular apps such as WhatsApp and YouTube. MTN said its Smart S 3G would be priced at around USD 22 (ZAR 300), making it one of the cheapest such phones available on the market.
The MTN phone supports 3G connectivity and despite its traditional feature phone design, also includes a number of useful applications and hardware features. The device comes with various apps installed, including Facebook, YouTube, Google Maps, Google Assistant and a web browser. The phone also supports dual-SIM and a microSD card with up to 32GB of storage.
