Obi Worldphone Sf1 And Sj1.5
Image Credit Obi Worldphone|http://www.obiworldphone.com/
Image Credit Obi Worldphone
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Former Apple exec selling new, low priced smart phones. And they don't run iOS. Fully specs here!
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• Technology: Cell Phone • Technology: Hardware
Remember John Sculley? He's the guy who ran Apple from 1983 to 1993 and he's launching something amazing now. It's... wait for it... a cheap smart phone! Best of all, it will run Android of all things!

Okay, okay, enough sarcasm. This actually is a pretty big deal, at least to a certain degree. Mainly, the phones are designed in the USA of (San Francisco) which they're making a big deal about. And rightfully so. Of course, I'm sure they'll be made in China which is shameful and, to me, cancels out any bragging rights the "Designed In San Francisco" could bring. Come on big companies, start doing the right thing here!

But it is nice to see some new and cheap phones with some decent specs on them coming to market. I'm tired of the various flagship phones that cost an arm and a leg. In fact, for my money, nothing beats a Nexus 5. It's the perfect blend of size, performance, and price even if it too is a little high on price. But these new Obi phones look even better, especially that price.

That's right, I said phones, as in plural. They are the Obi Worldphone SF1 and Obi Worldphone SJ1.5. Hmm. Not the best naming system ever. The SJ1.5 is the entry level model at $129 and the SF1 is the higher end model at $199. Of course, those prices assume you could buy them in the USA, which you can't. At least, not yet. It looks like they'll go for quantity sales in other emerging markets first (pronounced China and India) before we see them stateside.

In the mean time, let's cover the specs of each:

SJ1.5 Base Model



+ Five inch display @ 1280x720 (IPS / 294 ppi)
+ 8 Megapixel rear camera
+ 5 Megapizel front camera
+ Records HD 1080p video @ 30 frames per second
+ Runs Android Lollipop - with Obi overlay
+ Quad-core MediaTek MT6580 processor
+ 16GB Memory & 1GM RAM - MicroSD tray for expansion
+ Quick Charge 1.0 tech for fast charging
+ 3000 mAh battery
+ Dual SIM slots
+ Size: 146mm x 73mm x 7.95mm
+ MicroUSB v2.0 port
+ Sensors: accelerometer, proximity, gps, ambient light

SF1 Premium Model



+ Five inch display @ 1920x1080 (443 ppi)
+ 13 Megapixel rear camera using Sony Exmor RS sensor
+ 5 Megapizel front camera
+ Dymamic focus
+ ChromaFlash - Takes 1 shot with flash, 1 without, combines together
+ Records HD 1080p video @ 30 frames per second
+ Runs Android Lollipop - with Obi overlay
+ Dolby Audio Surround 7.1
+ Noise canceling microphone (dual mics)
+ Snapdragon 615 processor
+ Adreno 405 GPU (64-bit octa-core)
+ 16GB Memory & 2GB RAM or 32GB Memory & 3GB RAM
+ Quick Charge 1.0 tech for fast charging
+ 3000 mAh battery
+ Dual SIM slots supporting CDMA, 2G, 3G, and 4G LTE networks
+ Size: 146mm x 74mm x 8mm
+ MicroUSB v2.0 port
+ Sensors: accelerometer, proximity, gps, magnetic, gyro, ambient light

I don't see the SJ1.5 becoming a big sellers in America, but the SF1 certainly packs in good amount of features and power for a great price. This is exactly the kind of stuff we need, reasonable priced smart phones that we don't have to subsidize over two years. I think $200 is the breaking point for what a smart phone is worth, considering they only last a couple of years. This is the kind of stuff that can almost makes financial sense to buy. It certainly shows how ridiculously expensive those shiny iThings are when they really don't do much more than a phone like this can do.