Russia has released it’s first smartphone called the Yotaphone.
Developed by a Russian start-up, Yota Devices, the phone will be sold for $675 in Europe and $600 in Russia which makes it slightly cheaper than its competitors Apple and Samsung.
The Russian phone uses an Android operating system and is the first attempt by Russia to introduce their own smartphone products into a market that is currently dominated by American and Asian manufacturers.
While Apple and Samsung take the lionshare in America however in Europe, Nokia remains the number one cell maker. Nokia is currently in a deal with Micrsoft for $7.2 billion so it seems a perfect time for Russia to release their own product.
CEO of Yota Devices, Vladislav Martynov said that their device is a “revolution in telephone architecture” and boasts that it has a long battery life, electronic ink display, 4.3 inch 1280 HD screen and that the back of the phone would show information including feeds from social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.
“Before Yotaphone, this space was useless,” said Martynov.
While the company has declined to comment on how many units are in production, he did state that they had more than 10,000 orders before the phone even launched.
The product is being produced in Singapore, Taiwan and China but Martynov hopes that in the future, some of the labor will take place in Russia to help support the local economy.
There are currently no plans to sell this device in the US however it will be available in the UK from January.