Huawei has officially introduced into the Kenyan market two low-cost smartphones, the Huawei Y5C and the Huawei Y360. The devices, which have already been on sale in Nairobi and several other major towns in the country over the last four weeks, are meant to replace other devices in the low-end Y series like the Huawei Ascend Y330 and the Y511. The Y330 has, for the last several months, been one of the best-selling entry-level smartphones in the Kenyan market according to data from research firm GfK.
The two smartphones are meant to complement Huawei’s efforts in the mid-range and high-end segments of the market where it has released several devices in its G, P and Mate series. Budget smartphones still account for a huge chunk of smartphones sold in Kenya and the two devices, alongside others that the company has already been selling over the last one year like the Honor 3c, will go a long way in helping it attain its target of increasing its share of the Kenyan smartphone market from the current 10% to 20% by mid-2016.
Here is a breakdown of the specifications of the two devices:
| Huawei Y5C | Huawei Y360 | |
| Display | 4.5 inch TFT (480 x 854 pixels, 216 ppi) | 4.0 inch IPS LCD (480 x 854 pixels, 245 ppi pixel density) |
| Processor | Quad-core Spreadtrum SC7731 chip clocked at 1.2 GHz | Quad-core Mediatek MT6582 clocked at 1.2 GHz |
| Camera | 8 megapixel main camera with dual-LED flash; 2 megapixel front-facing shooter | 5 megapixel main camera; 2 megapixel selfie camera |
| Memory | 1 GB RAM, 8 GB internal storage (expandable 32 GB) | 512 MB RAM, 4 GB onboard storage (expandable via microSD as well) |
| Operating System | Android 4.4.2 | Android 4.4.2 |
| Battery | 1,730mAh | 1,730mAh |
| Network | 2G, 3G | 2G, 3G |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 |
| Others | Dual-SIM, FM radio | FM radio |
The Huawei Y5C goes for Kshs 9,900 in retail stores countrywide while the Huawei Y360 which has been retailing at Kshs 8,000 is now going for Kshs 5,499 at Safaricom shops countrywide as part of a promotional offer that also includes 500 MB data.
