$15 Phone With MP3/MP4 Debuts in Venezuela
May 25, 2009 by Rico Mossesgeld
Filed under Cellphones
The $15 Vergatario is perhaps the world’s cheapest mobile phone. Aside from CDMA connectivity, the mobile features a VGA camera (0.3 megapixels) and an MP3 music and MP4 video player. It’s been out now in Venezuela for around two weeks.
The Vergatario (Courtesy of Wikipedia)
Subsidies by the Venezuelan government made the low price possible. Aside from that however, the Vergatario also achieves the price point thanks to its low-cost Chinese roots. ZTE was responsible for the design of the phone, and currently supplies Chinese-made parts to Vergatario manufacturer Vetelca. Movilnet, the state-owned service provider, is this phone’s carrier
However, the phone’s name has gained some notoriety. “Vergatario” is apparently vulgar slang meaning “optimal”, and The Guardian claims that the root (”verga”) is slang for penis. The British newspaper also reports some Venezuelans considering the name crass, and it probably didn’t help when Venezuelan Hugo Chavez shared his desire that “everyone get the opportunity to get their hands on a Vergatorio”.
pretty nice phone for $15. The box looks nice, too.
i’m live in venezuela and i have the opportunity to test the phone. and only i have a little words to say worse phone ever made