Smart's Netphone rides on social networking bandwagon

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines is on top of the list in Facebook penetration worldwide, with nine out of 10 of its Internet users engaging in activities within the site regularly, a recent study conducted by 24/7 Wall St. revealed.

The same study also revealed that the country ranks eighth in terms of Twitter use.

As the texting, and now the social networking capital of the world, it comes as no surprise that the Netphone, a handset exclusively offered by leading wireless services provider Smart Communications, continues to generate buzz among Filipinos since its launch over a month ago.

Sales of the Netphone is brisk in its target segment, with more than 50 percent of Smart’s initial stock of Netphones already sold as of end-September 2011 — prompting Smart to place additional orders to meet the increasing popularity and demand for the handset.

Smart said the Netphone is unlike any other smartphone in the market today thanks to SmartNet-a platform developed by Smart which includes a suite of applications that allows Netphone users to chat, check their Facebook and Twitter social stream without switching applications, post online updates, and much more for free.

“With the Philippines having an online population of 30 million, Filipinos are without a doubt socially active online. However, most of these Filipinos only have access to social networking from their homes and Internet cafés. That’s why we came up with the Netphone, because we believe that social has to be mobile,” Smart Broadband Internet and Data Services head Gio Bacareza said.

What makes the Netphone even more appealing is that it was designed to cater specifically to Filipinos’ need for mobile connectivity. The Netphone features “Safe Browse” which, when activated prevents other applications outside SmartNet from accessing the Internet. With no applications accessing the web in the background users no longer have to worry about incurring extra data charges, the company added.

By itself, the Netphone 701 is already an excellent mobile phone: it runs on Android version 2.2 “FroYo”, allowing users access to over 300,000 applications for every need.

Physically, the Netphone 701 is also sleek in design. Measuring no more than 12.2mm thick, the phone features a 3.5-inch display and a 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus.

With all these features, Smart said that the Netphone hype is expected to continue among Filipinos. The text messaging and social networking capital of the world has found the phone that is perfectly fitting for the country’s description, it added.

The Netphone is available for only P9,900 on prepaid, or for free with a Smart Data Lite Plan 800 or All-in Plan 1200.