BY EMEKA AGINAM

Nigeria’s smartphone market is set to witness a major boost as global phone manufacturer, and one of the earlier key players in Nigeria’s mobile phone revolution, Alcatel Mobile, has re-entered the smartphone phone market with four new android smartphones.

Alcatel Mobile Phones are a brand of mobile handsets established in 2004 as a joint venture between Alcatel-Lucent of France and TCL Communication of China. Speaking at a press conference last week in Lagos for the launch of the new product, Mr. Ikechukwu Ezeonyeka, Operation Director, GIOCAH Ventures, Alcatel major distributor in Nigeria said the phones will be well accepted because of the pricing and all the additional features of a smartphone embedded in them.

He said: “The battery lives of these phones are long, and the designs are very attractive. I believe Nigerians will be happy with the products we have here.”

According to him, the return of Alcatel android mobile phones to Nigeria is due to the key status Nigeria holds in Africa and Middle East mobile phone market. According to him: “Alcatel phones are available and we are ready to fight for our share of the smartphone market, noting that the phone manufacturer will aim to control 20 per cent of the smartphone market within the next 12 months.

The new products included POP Series C9, C7, C5 and Idol Mini phones will redefine a market dominated by Asian phones especially Chinese phones.

The joker entrant, Alcatel POP C9 is all about bringing a large screen and quad-core chip in an affordable package. It is a colorful plastic device coming in a range of colors (Bluish Black, Cherry Red, Full White, Hot Pink or Fresh Turquoise) and bearing a surprising similarity to Samsung’s Galaxy S III.