Etisalat to launch self-branded mobile phone

Telecom services provider etisalat will launch its own mass-market branded mobile phone next week, 13 years after it last released customised hardware, the company's vice-president of product marketing told Emirates Business.

"We should launch this phone within a week and it will be branded an etisalat phone," said Omar Al Muzakki, on the sidelines of the launch of the UAE's first Android phone, HTC Magic.

"This is a first for us since 1996 when we stopped doing this. From 1994 to 1996 we used to sell the handset from etisalat where it was customised and everything was ours. We are now returning to that strategy," he said.

While refusing to reveal the name of the manufacturer, Muzakki said the etisalat phone would be priced Dh300 and feature mobile broadband applications, services from its interactive portal, Weyak, and several user interface customisations.

"The phone will feature normal customisation. The hardware will have etisalat's logo. We have put some applications that belong to etisalat such as the Weyak portal. We are trying to put content inside the phone where the customer will feel the content is coming from etisalat," he said.

Muzakki said oversupply of mobile devices in the UAE and a consequent lack of consumer confidence in several products had pushed etisalat towards device customisation.

"Our priority is to satisfy our customers in terms of the trust they need from etisalat. The UAE market is open and there are millions of handsets. But when you introduce a handset branded etisalat the customer will feel confident in its after sales and the price. This is why our first offering is in a low-price bracket," he said.

Future device launches will be decided following customer response to the product but etisalat will look at multiple manufacturers and offerings. Muzzaki said etisalat will launch the next-generation iPhone 3GS after Gitex in October.