On: Inside a $34 smartphone

[historian1066]

This device is only running EDGE and not being a 3G smartphone is a big distinction. In practice, the low memory also makes it a very difficult sell to consumers, so I’m not entirely surprised by the marketing deception here.

Shameless plug, my startup wholesales a 3G Android smartphone with 4GB memory running on a Spreadtrum chip that costs $30: https://www.voxsupplychain.com/shop/users/#/shop/product/and...

We have found that there are some natural dividing lines on low-end Android specs. If you cut more corners, it really impedes the user experience.

[Narishma → historian1066]

4 GB of storage. It only has 512 MB of memory.

[Leynos → Narishma]

That's pretty standard for phones of this size, unfortunately.

[Narishma → Leynos]

I have no problem with that. My issue is about misleadingly talking about memory when you mean storage.

[Alterlife → Narishma]

I didn't find it misleading because in my mind memory means storage.

For example: I use the terms flash memory and flash storage interchangeably. The other way round, RAM can be thought of as temporary storage that is lost when the device is powered off.

[janjongboom → historian1066]

Are you sure that 3G license fees are paid on this phone? From my experience sourcing cheap phones this price is not possible unless you avoid the licensing.

Lowest we could go for a SC7715 was about 35$.

[historian1066 → janjongboom]

Yes, it is all rolled up into the price of the device. This pricing is just for delivery to a port (CIP incoterm), so doesn't include customs clearance, duties, VAT or a retail markup.

[mcbridematt → janjongboom]

Being China, it could be a TD-SCDMA variant (the stylized '4G' logo hints at being a China Mobile variant). That would escape the WCDMA related patents, but its still technically a UMTS/GSM system.

[sauere → historian1066]

How are you able to ship this to Germany for $1?

[historian1066 → sauere]

We can ship 1,000 smartphones to Frankfurt's airport (FRA) for $1,104 USD, which is about a dollar per phone. Our minimum order is 1,000 smartphones, so that's not the same as being able to ship 1 device for $1.

Also, we work directly with carriers and get wholesale rates for air and sea freight to major ports. Delivery to Hamburg by sea is about $0.05 USD per device for 1,000 smartphones.

[sauere → historian1066]

I missed the Quantity field. My bad.

[waps → historian1066]

Have you thought of making it a bit more hacker friendly ? Having some available GPIO's somehow exposed and documented. A small (optional ?) component to point the camera forward. Something to mount these phones onto a frame in a solid way. An optional way to provide power to the phone without occupying the USB slot.

These phones would make excellent autopilots and controllers for RC cars, quadcopters, even regular helicopters, but there's just a few things missing.

[historian1066 → waps]

We've gotten a few requests for modifications that we are looking at. Would love to hear more about what you are thinking here.

My email is in my profile if you'd like to be in touch.