Android phone prices dropping quicker than expected?
updated 04:05 pm EST, Wed February 24, 2010
Pulse Mini may take focus off high-end phones
Telecom equipment provider Huawei is reportedly pushing Android handset pricing lower than expected with the announcement of its second Android phone, the Pulse Mini. T-Mobile announced last week that it would sell the Mini to its prepaid customers in the UK beginning in April, with an unlocked price of approximately $155 (£100). As the name implies, the Pulse Mini is smaller than its namesake. It uses a 2.8-inch, 320x240-pixels touchscreen that is exactly half the size of that used for the Pulse. The Mini also has a secondary front-facing camera the Pulse lacks, and will run Android 2.1.
Other manufacturers are concentrating on medium- and high-end Android phones, citing continuing strong demand, but have potentially been caught off guard. Foxconn, which is among the most competitive Taiwanese handset manufacturers on pricing, offers its least expensive Android handset to telecom carriers for the unlocked price of just under $300.
T-Mobile's Pulse retails for $278 (£180). When T-Mobile introduced the Pulse last year, it was the first prepaid Android smartphone in the world. [via DigiTimes]
