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Intel's Yolo low-cost smartphone debuts

Intel's low-cost smartphone will be sold for the first time in Kenya, the chipmaker announced today.

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Brooke Crothers Former CNET contributor
Brooke Crothers writes about mobile computer systems, including laptops, tablets, smartphones: how they define the computing experience and the hardware that makes them tick. He has served as an editor at large at CNET News and a contributing reporter to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. His interest in things small began when living in Tokyo in a very small apartment for a very long time.
Brooke Crothers
Intel Yolo smartphone will be priced at about $125 for sale in Africa.
Intel Yolo smartphone will be priced at about $125 for sale in Africa. Anandtech

Safaricom today announced a smartphone based an Intel design -- part of the chipmaker's effort to enter the global low-cost phone market.

The Yolo smartphone is aimed "cost-conscious...first-time buyers" in Kenya, said Intel, which is responsible for both the core electronics and phone's design.

That design was announced at CES 2013.

Inside the 3.5-inch Yolo is an Intel Atom Z2420 processor that can run at speeds up to 1.2 GHz and Intel's XMM 6265 modem with HSPA+ support for global roaming.

Yolo will be sold in Safaricom shops in Kenya at an entry price of Kshs. 10,999 (about $125) and comes bundled with 500 MB of free data.

And this follows an announcement in April of the Xolo X900 by Intel and India-based Lava International. That phone is built around the Intel Atom Z2460 processor.

At CES 2013, Intel announced the Lexington smartphone platform  -- the design that Safaricom is using for Yolo
At CES 2013, Intel announced the Lexington smartphone platform -- the design that Safaricom is using for Yolo. CNET