Internet security firm Bkav said it has received more orders for its Bphone smartphone than expected after it started to sell the first made-in-Vietnam phone online on Tuesday.



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The company said customers ordered more than 11,880 Bphones from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. via vala.vn and bkav.com.vn/bphone on Tuesday. The 16GB version made up nearly half the total orders and the 24K gold-plated version accounted for 20%.

HCMC has the largest number of Bphone smartphone buyers, followed by Hanoi Danang, Nghe An and Quang Ninh.

The company plans to start delivering Bphone smartphones to the first customers from next week and those who booked it later will have to wait two to three weeks.

Some customers told the Daily on June 3 that they had not get confirmations from Bkav until they telephoned the company though they placed orders Tuesday morning.

An executive of the company explained when reached by the Daily that the confirmation delay was attributable to higher-than-expected orders.

The company said Bphone smartphones have not been available for purchase at retail outlets like other smartphones. 

Late last month, Bkav unveiled its Bphone smartphones for middle- and high-income clients with prices of less than VND10 million (US$458) for the 16GB version, VND12.9 million for 64GB version and over VND20.1 million for the 24K gold-plated version.

The smartphone runs on the BOS operating system based on the Android and features a 5-inch full HD display. It has two cameras, a glass back and an aluminum frame.

Bkav CEO Nguyen Tu Quang said Bphone is made from over 800 parts manufactured and supplied by 80 firms worldwide and it had taken hundreds of its engineers five years to develop the product.

Bkav is expected to launch the second-generation Bphone next month.

SGT