Courts Cyber City yesterday launched its range of Blackview products at the Courts Nakasi Branch and for the first time, Fijians can now buy locally – cash or hire purchase – their very own Blackview rugged phones, tablets or personal computers that take up significantly much less space than current ones.
Blackview, the company behind the brand, prides itself in “making the most powerful high-quality and distinctive rugged smartphones, closer to indestructible and offer you with an affordable price”. This was the main attraction at yesterday’s launch, with price ranging from $399 for the BV4800 to the more sophisticated rugged BV8900 at $999.
“These phones are very rugged and quite heavy,” said Prem Singh, regional manager for Courts Cyber City.
“The BV8900 on its own has 10,000mAH power battery, that’s twice as much battery as your flagship top of the range phone of any brand.
“It has this really cool feature where it has not only a very powerful torch, it also has a laser guide pointer. Put it on the table it can check the level of things, measure, et cetera.”
Rugged phones, according to tech magazine ZDNet, are toughened versions of a typical smartphone.
“Rugged phones have undergone a rigorous design process to make them more resistant to liquids, dirt, dust, drops, shocks, and extreme temperatures,” typically ideal for extreme working environment.
“The BV9300 specifically has a 16500mAH power, which is three times the size of battery that any flagship phone has. This phone, if used well, can last you an entire week,” Mr Singh said.
“We brought this to have a competitive price and also for rugged use – construction workers, night workers, etc. They are waterproof, shockproof and their battery can last long.”
Also in the range of products are Blackview smart watches and earpods, tablets and personal computers.
“PCs can be expensive so pre-built PCs are seeing a growing market, not just in Fiji but the world. These ones come with NUCs (Next Unit of Computing), that save a lot of space,” Mr Singh said. On display was the Blacview MP200, which is a gaming grade PC with a price tag of $1000.
“It can handle a lot of work, some light graphics work and some video editing, suitable for a small office with a staff of five or six.”
My favourite was the Blackview MP80 mini PC, so tiny “it can fit in the palm of your hand and disappear in the background of your office or home,” as Mr Singh put it.
“It can connect three HDMIs, has three USB 3.0 ports and two LAN ports. So connect to Internet, connect monitors, connect keyboards and mouse or any other peripherals and you’re good to go.”
