A for Africa – Introducing the Tecno Phantom A

I first learnt about Tecno phones via my twin sisters. They had both gotten Tecno phones that run on the Symbian technology. They liked the sturdiness, easy to use and versatile nature of those phones. It could browse the internet and could take multiple chips. The phone was affordable with a very reasonable price. No wonder Tecno phones were and are still selling off the charts in Ghana. I was carrying a Nexus phone at the time and though my sisters liked their Tecno phones, they salivated over the cool Android device I had. After learning about the Tecno Phantom A and its price (wait for it), my sisters have to revisit using Tecno phones. I am already a new fan!

My sisters would especially love the DUAL SIM functionality. This was clearly built for Africa. The Phantom A is well packaged and there are a number of pluses straight away. I love how the Facebook page for Tecno in Africa is embossed on the box, sending the message that Tecno takes its African customers (which includes me) seriously. This was clearly packaged for Africa. The box and packaging stands arms akimbo with similar top of the line Android phones.  Hence, the Phantom A marries affordability with quality. This would clearly delight Africa.

A colleague at work saw me lift the phone and said “Nexus 4?” “No, Tecno”. “What!” Now, this is the kind of what that seems to say “I can’t believe it but that sounds really really good!”. The first thing I check on new phones is the settings. Android 4.1 operating system with standard relevant Android apps? Check. More than 10 GB memory? Check. The other settings acquitted themselves honourably. The Phantom A is sturdy but not too heavy. Thought it was a bit interesting to have the phone charger/connector jack on top of the phone and not at the bottom.

The package comes with cool ear phones, just like the ones popular with smart phone users everywhere. Coloured white, I could imagine myself looking cool and bouncing along with the earphones dangling from my pockets.  The phone charger unit is adaptable for connection to PC and to extension cords as well. The containing box came with a nice protective shield for the phone which can be carried and used handily. I was very excited about the inclusion of the power bank. Many Android phones are notorious for their average battery life so to have a charging unit that is handy is a great addition to the Tecno Phantom A at no extra price as well.

Tecno aims to disrupt the market with this phone. Disrupt it would. Because I asked a number of people to guess how much this phone might cost and they routinely quoted twice the price. So this is a deal that even makes the traditional top end Android phones jealous. Five hundred and forty Ghana cedis (540 GhC).  If you’re scoring at home, that would be about $270. Can’t beat that.