From Cuba comes the news of the "socialist" smartphones of the state company Gedeme that, in its site, has made quite a few mistakes.
Giuseppe Croce Journalist
Peppe Croce, journalist since 2008, deals with electronic devices and new technologies applied to the automotive world. He joined Libero Tecnologia in 2018.
A smartphone born in Cuba for the use and consumption of Cubans. This is not a fantasy but the device produced by Gedeme, a state-owned company that will make 6 thousand copies, only in the first instance, and will be distributed by the end of June within the stores of Etesca, the national telephone company, and Copextel.
With the cell phone made by Gedeme and Gelect, Grupo de la Industria Electrónica, la Informática, la Automatización y las Comunicaciones, the Caribbean nation aims to show to the eyes of the others its autonomy in the realization of technological products, without necessarily having to rely on foreign manufacturing companies with all that concerns it. Therefore, whether it is China or the United States, Cuba says enough by rolling up its sleeves and getting to work to show the rest of the world its capabilities. It must be said that Gedeme is not a novice, given that in the past it has also produced computer, electrical and electronic devices, as well as specific tools for the telecommunications sector (in addition to producing windows), but perhaps whoever looks after its website does not have much technical knowledge, given that the data sheets of the State smartphones are full of errors.
Cuban smartphones, technical characteristics
Through the first low-resolution renderings published a few weeks ago (you can see one in the opening), Gedeme has allowed us to discover the device that should soon arrive in stores. It's not one, mind you, but three the different mid-range models; in two cases out of three, then, the technical specifications have been published on the official website, allowing you to take a closer look at the possible performance.
The first model GDM MB10, is a smartphone equipped with a 6" screen with HD resolution, MediaTek Helio P22 processor (but the data sheet states, by mistake, "Helio P222") with "Maali-G71" graphics chip (which is actually Mali-G71, second mistake) and a combination of RAM and storage space of 3GB/32GB expandable via external memory card instead of SIM2. To power it, a 3200 mAh battery, while the photo compartment offers a dual module on the back with 8 MP and 3 MP sensor 8ma the data sheet, wrong again, states 0.3 MP) and a 5MP front camera.
To complete the specifications, the housing for two sim (or sim/memory), Wi-Fi connectivity and Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, fingerprint reader and face recognition, housing for 3.5 mm mini jack connector. Available in blue color, it has dimensions of 157.7 x 75.7 x 8.8 mm and a weight of 168 gr.
The other model, namely GDM P4R, instead mounts a 6.22-inch display with HD+ resolution, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of expandable memory using the second SIM slot; inside, then, we find a processor MediaTek Helio P22 (this time spelled right) and a 3400 mAh battery. The photo/video equipment is slightly richer, with a 13 MP+3 MP (again misspelled: 0.3 MP) rear cam module and an 8MP front cam.
Also integrated are Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and fingerprint sensor, facial recognition, dedicated wired headphone connector, all in 157.7 x 75.7 x 8.8 mm for a weight of 168 gr and black color.
Cuban smartphones, what operating system?
Currently, the operating system with which the devices will come to market is Google's Android 10 (one assumes the Go Edition, given the low power of the devices, but it is not specified). Apparently, however, it would only be a temporary issue that is destined to change.
In fact, it will be NovaDroid to manage Gedeme's devices in the near future, a customized version of Big G's OS to better adapt to the proposals of the Caribbean company. It wouldn't be an absolute novelty, as it has already been integrated into the company's tablets, effectively eliminating all those services that are banned in Cuba due to technological and other limitations, including for example the downloading of paid applications from the Play Store.