AT+T calls on Vietnamese phone maker VinSmart for entry-level handsets - Android

Vietnamese manufacturer VinSmart has dipped its toes in the US phone market, thanks to a partnership with AT&T. The deal, which is reported to call for “nearly two million” smartphones, is already underway with phones under the AT&T Prepaid and Cricket brands.

The AT&T Fusion Z and Cricket Influence currently sell at AT&T Prepaid and Cricket Wireless for $40, respectively. As the price would indicate, these are entry-level devices in terms of hardware.

AT&T Fusion Z

AT&T Fusion Z

• 6.0-inch display
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 215 processor
• 2GB RAM
• 16GB RAM (w/ microSD card for up to 64GB)
• 5-megapixel rear camera
• 5-megapixel front-facing camera
• 3,300mAh battery
• Android 10 Go Edition

Cricket Influence

Cricket Influence

• 6.2-inch display
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 460 processor
• 2GB RAM
• 32GB RAM (w/ microSD card for up to 128GB)
• 13-megapixel and 5-megapixel rear cameras
• 5-megapixel front-facing camera
• 3,300mAh battery
• Android 10

VinSmart’s name is nowhere to be found on the phones, but it’s at least getting the chance to shine. Other companies have done a similar “white label” for phones and gone on to various levels of success. HTC, Alcatel, and TCL, are (or were) behind some of the carrier-branded handsets over the last few years.

AT&T had previously tapped Chinese manufacturer Tinno for carrier-branded phones; however, the US government has adopted a rather stringent attitude toward Chinese telecom companies in the last few years. AT&T’s move could be viewed as a bit of diversification.