The SOLO Phone proposition is to provide a unique end-to-end mobile content delivery experience for its users. SOLO Phone is not just a smartphone startup. It is primarily a digital services startup that so happens to sell mobile devices.
The SOLO Phone offering is primarily two-fold. With SOLO Music, you get unlimited free access to stream and download music from a library of over 20-million international and local music tracks, directly to, and for the lifetime, of the device.
With SOLO View, you can rent and download movies (just Nollywood movies for now. Hollywood movies are coming “in a few weeks”, according to SOLO Global CEO, Tayo Ogundipe), directly to your device, at N200 per movie. Movies are paid for via prepaid scratch cards. A full length movie can be downloaded via SOLO Kiosks in a matter of mere minutes. SOLO Kiosks are custom hotspots provided by SOLO and strategically installed in select retail outlets and high traffic areas around the nation. Every content downloaded to SOLO Phone devices is DRM-protected. While downloaded music never expires (for the lifetime of the device), rented videos expire in 2 weeks.
Around December last year, SOLO introduced their first 2 phones into the market – the SOLO S350 and SOLO S450. They retailed for about 18k and 28k respectively at launch. We reviewed the S350 here on TC.
Yesterday at a private media event, they unveiled 3 new SOLO Phones. The S400, S410 and S500, all Android-powered Dual SIM smartphones and hopefully major improvements on the S350 and S450. Like their predecessors, they will also come with free data for up to 12 months after purchase.
The SOLO S400 is the low end offering of the lot. It spots a 4-inch display, 4GB internaI memory, expandable to 32Gb external, 512MB RAM, 1.2 GHz Dual Core processor, a 1500mAh battery, a 3.2 MP primary camera and a VGA front camera. It comes in both black and white with silver trim.
The SOLO S410 comes with a more premium build and has very similar specs to the S400, with a few improvements – a quad-core processor and a 5MP primary camera. It comes in white and silver with black and rose-gold trim.
The SOLO S500 is the flagship offering of the lot.It is ultra slim device with a 5-inch HD display, 1GB RAM, 8GB of internal memory, an 8 MP primary camera with flash and 2 MP front camera. It will be available in black and rose-gold or white and silver.
Now, all 3 devices get equal access to SOLO Music and SOLO View but here’s the jaw dropper; at launch, the S400, S410 and S500 will retail for 13k, 17k and 33k Naira respectively. All that smartphone, free music (for life), and end-to-end video experience for dirt cheap. Let that sink in.
“We are extremely proud of the devices we are unveiling here today,” said Tayo Ogundipe, Founder and Global CEO of SOLO. “We are dedicated to the Nigerian market and committed to bringing an unparalleled entertainment experience to Nigerians, on compelling smartphone devices, and at a price anyone can afford.”
Dolapo Ajayi, Co-Founder and Head, West Africa added, “SOLO is now a national brand with presence in all regions of the country and constantly improving on our point-of-sales presence to deliver the best experience directly to the hands of the consumer.”
We have a review unit of the S400 in our possession. We will let you know what the experience is like, soon. We are hoping it’s a major improvement on the S350.
