Smart teams up with MyPhone

MANILA, Philippines - Mobile services provider Smart Communications Inc. has teamed up with local mobile phone brand MyPhone to launch an P888 handset aimed at increasing the smartphone adoption in the Philippines.

Smart’s first offering this year is part of the company’s two-pronged approach in putting the power of digital services into the hands of more consumers.

“We are bringing the Smart life experience to more Filipinos by making the smartphone more attainable through device offers and promos and by expanding our range of digital services in the fields of connectivity, entertainment, home security, urban convenience and financial services,” Smart executive vice president Ariel Fermin said.

In a report by Swedish information and communications technology (ICT) provider Ericsson, four out of 10 Filipinos owned a smartphone as of end-2015.

According to the study, smartphone adoption in the Philippines is expected to increase to approximately 70 percent of the population in the next three years as devices become more affordable and more digital services are introduced in the market.

Furthermore, Smart targets to sustain mobile data usage within PLDT’s wireless segment which grew 139 percent and has led to a combined broadband and mobile Internet revenues of around P15.6 billion in the first nine months of 2015.

The Android Prepaid Smartphone kit has a quad-core processor that runs the latest Android operating system Lollipop, which allows for multitasking, from browsing news sites, emailing, and using applications and social media sites.