Smart Communications made a huge leap in its marketing strategy upon the introduction of its new Smart Netphone which features the Netphone 701.
This netphone is basically a ZTE Blade priced for only PHP 9,990 for pre-paid, it’s also free Plan 1000 and Plan 800 postpaid. It goes with an Android 2.2 Froyo (600MHz) and 3.5” display. The phone is not yet available until September 10, but loads of pre-orders are now on queue. But before we get too excited, check out its complete specs and features after the jump.
Android 2.2 (Froyo)
600 MHz ARM11 processor (Qualcomm MSM7227 chipset)
3.5-inch LCD (480 x 800 pixels) capacitive touchscreen display
150 MB internal storage, microSD up to 32GB
512 MB RAM, 512 MB ROM
3.2MP AF rear camera, no Flash
VGA front camera
3G (HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps)
GPRS
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, Wi-Fi hotspot
GPS, A-GPS
Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, EDR
USB 2.0
1250mAh Li-Ion battery
114 x 56 x 12.2mm
130 g
Smartnet and its not-so-cool hook-up process
Okay, so the first thing that geeks want to know is about the Smartnet. Being tagged as one of the phone’s distinguishing factor, the Smartnet (according to Smart) is a suite of all applications that works closely with Smart network which makes using the services easier than ever. And when they say services, they mean that it’s an Android App which basically gateway to your favorite web services.
So this means that Smartnet will act like a global directory wherein all Smartnet users can interact with each other. But the thing is, Smartnet is tied up with your SIM card. So the first number that you’ll register with Smartnet will be the only number that your netphone will recognize. In cases that the phone will be stolen or will be passed on to another consumer, you’ll have to contact Smart to unregister the previous number (and use your desired SIM number).
IP Messaging and Social Networking
Atleast the IP Messaging could patch things up. This feature is used to communicate with other Netphone users and take note…Its FREE (Smart to Smart). Like what I said a while ago, Smartnet is a gateway to all of your social networking sites. You can link Facebook, Twitter or both. Every update in your smartnet account (like photos) will also be updated in your networking sites.
Smart Netphone will be released not to compete with other existing instant messaging units like BBM or Samsung (ChatOn). It's definitely a strategy of converting these instant messaging users into Smart users.
