FINANCIAL NEWS

Cheap smartphones to increase North Africa’s internet use

03 Jul 2011

(MENAFN) The US chip maker Qualcomm’s chairman and chief executive, Paul Jacobs, said that in the next twelve months, smartphones at USD100 or less would enhance internet use in low income markets of North Africa, reported The National.

Jacobs added that compared with other markets, internet use in the region was low, for in Egypt, only 26.7 percent of the country’s residents use the internet, whereas in the UAE for example, around 78 percent of its residents use the internet, therefore, when cheaper handsets would be available, then an increase demand for web enabled smartphones in countries like Egypt and Morocco would be recorded.

He also said that the company was focusing on producing lower cost chips for use in smartphones, which offer web browsing, e-mail and access to social networks since the only internet access most people had in many of these markets was through their mobile phones.

It is worth noting Qualcomm is the world’s largest semiconductor firm that depends on outside foundry companies to manufacture its chips. In the second quarter, the company’s revenue reached USD3.88 billion.

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