More than just bringing people the taste of the new generation, beverage conglomerate PepsiCo reportedly plans to sell Android smartphones to the Chinese market. The phone of the new generation perhaps?
Mobipicker first reported that there were rumors about the smartphone, but Reuters confirmed its truth: a PepsiCo spokeswoman told the news outlet that her company is indeed releasing a phone.
"Available in China only, this effort is similar to recent globally licensed Pepsi products which include apparel and accessories," said the spokeswoman.
The phone which has reportedly “decent but not high-end specs” will be released to the Chinese market on Oct. 20.
According to Mobipicker's source, Chinese website Sina, the Pepsi smartphone, aptly called “Pepsi P1” as of now, is coming with a 5.5-inch 1080p display, a 1.7GHz processor with 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of internal storage. It also comes equipped with a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front-mounted camera. It will be powered by a 3,000 mAh battery.
According to Digital Trends, PepsiCo, which appears to be banking on brand recognition rather than actual top-notch quality hardware, had the phone designed to reflect the company's logo. The phone, as seen in leaked images, features Pepsi's signature logo colors of red, white, and blue, as well as an embossed Pepsi logo at the back of the phone.
Additionally, it only has a few capacitive buttons beneath the screen (back, home, multitasking) and a fingerprint sensor at the back.
Mobipicker adds that according to the leak, the P1 will be priced at 1,299 CNY (approx. $205), and it will be running on the Android 5.1 Lollipop operating system.
As the phone is released next week, the tech site says that it would be interesting to see if Pepsi's rival company, Coca-Cola Ltd., would make their own smartphone units as well.
Digital Trends adds that this is not a new trend. Audio company Marshall and heavy equipment giant Caterpillar have also tried their hands at releasing phones.
Reflecting the company's audio expertise, the Marshall London has twin headphone jacks and a dedicated audio chip embedded, while Caterpillar's Cat phones are built with a rugged design, reflecting the construction equipment company itself.
The Pepsi P1, however, doesn't offer free drinks when you open it. Maybe a “Crystal P1” model reflecting a Crystal Pepsi dispenser, or a phone body made from Pepsi can aluminum will do.
