FreedomPop is primarily known as a wireless operator that’s all about Wi-Fi, but soon it’ll be getting into the hardware game, too.
FreedomPop says that it plans to launch its first smartphone in 2016. The device will have an Intel processor — Intel recently invested in FreedomPop, so that’s no surprise — and will be “optimized for Wi-Fi.” FreedomPop CEO Stephen Stokols says that the phone will be made by a well-know manufacturer, but didn’t drop any names.
The phone is expected to cost less than $200 and will be sold in markets where FreedomPop is available as well as some where it doesn’t.
FreedomPop phones are meant to hop between Wi-Fi networks for calling and texting, but when they’re away from cellular networks, they run on Sprint in the US and Three in the UK. The company’s Intel-powered phone will be optimized for this usage. It’ll definitely be interesting to see what kind of hardware FreedomPop and Intel can pack into a phone that costs less than $200, and considering how Intel has been unable to really break into mobile so far, it likely wants to try and make a splash with this FreedomPop phone.