The Aptos Foundation has partnered with Jambo Technologies to launch a $99 Web3 smartphone dubbed JamboPhone, rivaling Solana’s Saga.
On February 15, Aptos Foundation announced via a blog post that it has partnered with African tech firm Jambo to launch JamboPhone, the competitor to Solana’s Saga.
Jambo reports that the smartphone, which has a 6.5-inch IPS LCD display and Android 13, is supposedly already available for purchase in many emerging nations, with a starting price of $99.
Jambo bills its product as “the best gaming smartphone in its class,” although it resembles the Chinese-made AGM Mobile N1, which costs $85 on Alibaba for purchases of six or more units and has comparable hardware.
However, the Aptos Foundation emphasized that the JamboPhone is more than simply a gadget, calling it “a bridge to the Aptos ecosystem” because of pre-installed Aptos-specific apps like Petra, a digital wallet that works with Aptos. The Aptos Foundation:
“By prioritizing accessibility and education, we aim to ensure that the benefits of technological advancement are accessible to all, paving the way for a more connected and empowered global community”
According to data from CoinMarketCap, the price of Aptos’s cryptocurrency, APT, increased by around 3% after the announcement and is presently trading at $10.6.
Launching cellphones successfully has shown to be a mutually beneficial approach for cryptocurrency projects looking to increase participation in their ecosystems.
For example, Solana has already opened pre-orders for its upcoming Saga smartphone, which is expected to be more reasonably priced than its predecessor and will ship in the first half of 2025.