Elikia: A smartphone designed in Congo

A Congolese designed smartphone, but made in China has started selling in Congo at a price of $171.

Called Elikia, which means hope in Congo’s Lingala language, the smartphone is the brainchild of a Congolese gadget designer VMK, which also last year released a Chinese assembled

The phone is already being distributed by Airtel and Warid, two telecom operators in the country.

Elikia has a 650 MHz processor, running gingerbread 2.3.6 with 126 MB of on-board storage.The petite handheld is a pretty decently designed phone (even by today’s standards), being rather stylish and elegant. Its 150g weight and 11.2mm thickness , makes it portable and “easily pocketable”.

According to report, VMK said through its twitter account that it would launch a $50 tablet for students mid next year, in the continuous bid to provide affordable mobile technology to Africans.

Verone Mankou, the start-up’s founder, says he plans to take a dominant share of the African market with the company’s devices, the same way Apple and Samsung are dominating the world.

VMK’s first product is the Galaxy tab-sized tablet called Way-C, meaning ‘the light of the stars.’ It now sells for $300.

Elikia can also be bought within the confines of the French Institute of Congo (IFC). Other regions in Congo will follow suit in the coming days.

By January 2013, the pan-African company will begin international marketing for the device.

With reports from Ventures Africa