TESLA smartphones are now available at Safaricom retail shops and its e-commerce platform, Masoko.
The manufacturer, which has been in the Kenyan market for a while, has been selling its devices in a couple of physical stores and Jumia. This latest development implies that Tesla phones will now be available to customers who purchase their devices strictly from Safaricom shops for one reason or another.
TESLA’s offering target the low-end market, an increasingly competitive ground even for established brands such as Transsion (TECNO and Infinix), OPPO and HMD Global (Nokia), among other budget-oriented manufacturers.
The devices in question, TESLA 6.3 and TESLA 3.3 Lite, are currently available at Masoko. It should be noted that the 6.3 and 3.3 numbers should be not be confused with screen sizes as both devices have 5-inch displays.
The differences are seen in camera, battery size and memory options: the 6.3 packs 3/32GB in RAM/onboard memory, 13/8MP cams and 2400 mAh battery, whereas the 3.3 Lite has 1/8GB memory combo, 8/5MP cam sensors and a 2200 mAh juicer.
The 6.3, which we reviewed a few weeks ago, is the most expensive one at KES 13999, and the less-spec’d one costs KES 7499. Both purchases come with 100 MB of data and a free cover.
Perhaps the Achilles heel of the two handhelds is that they ship with Android 7 Nougat, which is dated by today’s standards. We are also skeptical about the manufacturer’s update cycle, although we will not be surprised if the phones get an update in 2019.
