[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Cho] BALMUDA, a Japanese premium kitchen appliance brand well known for toasters, has launched its first smartphone.
According to local media on the 17th, BALMUDA announced the day before that it unveiled its first smartphone, the 'BALMUDA Phone,' and started pre-orders. The SIM-free model sold through online stores and BALMUDA shops is priced at 104,800 yen. Among Japanese carriers, SoftBank has exclusive sales rights. The official release date is the 26th.
The revealed BALMUDA Phone features a compact size with a 4.9-inch screen and a curved design. Considering that the iPhone 13 has a 6.1-inch screen and the iPhone 13 mini has a 5.4-inch screen, local media emphasized its portability. The design strengths reflected in small kitchen appliances such as toasters, fans, and humidifiers are also evident.
A BALMUDA representative stated, "The BALMUDA Phone is a smartphone without straight lines," emphasizing, "We chose a shape familiar to the hand and a size easy to hold." They explained that while smartphone sizes are increasing globally, they wanted to offer a new option through a compact phone. The colors available are white and black.
The BALMUDA Phone weighs 138g. It is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765, has a battery capacity of 2500mAh, 6GB of memory, and 128GB of storage. BALMUDA also prepared dedicated applications such as a scheduler, calculator, and memo. The camera supports night mode, portrait mode, and a 'Cooking Mode' that utilizes BALMUDA's accumulated expertise in home appliances to capture food deliciously.
Earlier, in May, BALMUDA announced plans to enter the smartphone market in partnership with manufacturer Kyocera. In August, they also introduced a new brand handling high-tech products called 'BALMUDA Technology.'
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