Vodafone 150 and 250 mobile phones to be released in developing countries

Vodafone has announced the release of two new low-cost mobile phones – the 150 and 250 – which it is set to market in developing regions, such as Africa and India.

The handsets will cost users less than $15 (£9.50) and $20 each and will offer owners the ability to text, make phone calls and access bank accounts.

Mike Short, president of the Mobile Data Association, said Vodafone’s move was a result of significant research and development across the mobile phone industry.

He stated: "No other electronics product globally has such a wide developer community or such shared research and development to draw from."

The Vodafone 150 and 250 are now ready to be released across Africa and India within weeks.

Africa’s M-Pesa service is one example of a function that will allow mobile phone users in the respective regions to make money transfers between banks.

However, Mr Short was not as confident that smartphones would be widely available in developing parts of the world in the short term.

He said: "Smartphones are already taking off globally, but with an uneven distribution geographically. Too many operating systems may inhibit innovation and may not all have equal scale or reach."

Recent research by the International Data Corporation showed that the global mobile phone market grew by 11.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Vendors shipped 324.3 million handsets compared with 292.4 million in the previous three-month period, contributing to a total of 1.13 billion across the world over the course of the year.