Tecno’s flagship smartphone, the Phantom 9, is finally available for purchase in the country.
The device which was announced in early July had been expected to start selling in the country before the end of that month. That was not to be, though, and that’s how we find ourselves seeing it become available locally almost 2 months since word of the Phantom series’ rise from the dead surfaced.
The wait to get the device may work against it as, during the time that it’s been missing in action, other equally capable devices have since made inroads.
Samsung’s impressive Galaxy A-series lineup which includes the Phantom 9’s direct competitors, Huawei’s continued onslaught on the budget smartphone segment and Xiaomi’s slow but sure strides with juicy deals on devices under its popular Redmi sub-brand will be giving the Phantom 9’s backers sleepless nights.
That is not to say that the Tecno Phantom 9 is lacking in features. As we will be seeing soon as we explore the device, it tries to keep its end of the bargain. It packs Tecno’s first in-display fingerprint scanner, for instance, the first time we are seeing such a feature on a budget device in the local market.
It also boasts of a tri-camera setup at the back and some bright dual flashlights on the front to make sure images taken by both the primary and secondary cameras pop.
The Tecno Phantom 9 is going for Kshs 25,000 at online and offline outlets (including Safaricom shops). Those who can’t cough up that amount upfront can take advantage of Tecno’s partnership with LipaLater to get the device and be paying at least Kshs 2,730 every month for a year.
While we don’t have exact details about how it is pulling this off, in a statement provided to us announcing the device’s availability in the local market, Tecno says that it is also accepting trade-ins of older Tecno smartphones for the Phantom 9 [Update: the trade-in is through LipaLater].
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