Android One Officially Lands in the Philippines

Earlier today, Google announced the availability of Android One via 2 of their leading partners, Cherry Mobile and MyPhone. Regional executives and officers of Google and all the partners they are working with graced the event that happened the Whitespace Makati.

Announced last September, Android One is a program that basically brings the immersive and full-featured Android experience to as many people as possible. The launch today makes the Philipines the 6th country in the world that’s part of the program next to other emerging markets (India, Banglades, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia).

During our exclusive interview with Mr. Caesar Sengupta, the VP for Product Management of Google Inc., he was excited to show us the new devices that are compliant to Android One hardware reference – Cherry Mobile One and MyPhone Uno. Both devices will be available in the coming weeks thru partner telcos like Smart and Sun, and directly from Cherry Mobile and MyPhone distributors. According to him, they have been in touch with this companies for quite some time now to deliver the first wave of Android One devices in the Philippines. As the first 2 partners of Google for Android One, they’ve got the first dibs in playing with the compliant recipes and eventually sell more Android One devices variants in the future.

Cherry Mobile One Specs

• Android 5.0 (Lollipop)
• 1.3 GHz Quad Core
• 4.5″ TFT Capacitive Asahi Glass LCD
• 8GB ROM
• 1GB RAM
• Expandable up to 64gb MicroSD
• Dual Micro Sim
• 4.5″ Capacitive Screen
• Scratch Resistant
• 5MP Main Camera with BSI support
• 2MP Front Camera
• 1780mAH Battery Capacity
• *Receives 2 year update from Google

MyPhone Uno Specs:

• Android 5.0 (Lollipop)
• 1.3 GHz Quad Core
• 4.5″ TFT Capacitive Asahi Glass LCD
• 4GB ROM
• 1GB RAM
• Expandable up to 64gb MicroSD
• Dual Micro Sim
• Scratch Resistant
• 5MP Main Camera with BSI support
• 2MP Front Camera
• 1780mAH Battery Capacity
• *Receives 2 year update from Google

During Sengupta’s keynote speech, he said that they are happy to bring Android One smartphones to the Philippines. He also stressed that working with Cherry Mobile and Myphone have allowed them to design and bring the program to more Filipinos.

Also during the keynote speech of Google Philippines Country Manager, Kenneth Lingan, he said that with this program, more Filipinos will be able to embrace the power of Android and the power of the internet at a very affordable cost. With Android Lollipop’s smartphone and data-reducing features, first-time smartphone users will experience unparallelled digital experience.

During Lingan’s keynote, he stressed that the Philippines is 2nd largest Internet market in Southeast Asia and 6th in Asia. This 2015, he said, Google expects 10 million Filipinos to engage with the internet for the first time using mobile phones. Couple this with the expectation that on the next 2 years, our internet penetration will increase to 66% from 49%. Android One will play an important role in the fruition of these expectations.

Giancarlo Viterbo

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Giancarlo Viterbo is a Filipino Technology Journalist, blogger and Editor of gadgetpilipinas.net, He is also a Geek, Dad and a Husband. He knows a lot about washing the dishes, doing some errands and following instructions from his boss on his day job. Follow him on twitter: @gianviterbo and @gadgetpilipinas.