This high-end Android handset will be 2011 flagship product in Movistar brand portfolio.

Barcelona, 16 February 2011- Telefónica and ZTE today announced they will commercially launch Movistar Prime handset in the twelve Latin American Movistar cellular operations from the second quarter of this year. 

The handset is the latest result of the collaboration agreement for the development of Movistar brand mobile phones forged between handset manufacturer ZTE and Telefónica in Latin America since early 2010. The Movistar Prime model will be the focus of the global marketing campaigns rolled out by Telefónica in Latin America during 2011 to promote its services and strengthen its mobile brand.

The new model is aimed at more demanding customers who need a powerful communications tool with access to multiple types of applications and services, either professional (e.g. email and office applications), as well as personal (social networks, instant messaging, GPS), two aspects increasingly tied and difficult to separate.

Customers will be able to expand the capacity of the device by using the Telefónica pre-installed services as well as downloading new applications from its applications store. The multimedia experience is guaranteed by the 3.2 megapixel camera for photos and videos and a multimedia player for all types of content (games, music, videos).

The new model has a modern, stylish design and offers advanced features such as a 3.5 inch capacitive touch screen, a high capacity processor, multiple connectivity options (HSDPA, WiFi and Bluetooth) and a high performance rechargeable lithium battery to ensure greater autonomy.

As a result of the agreement reached with ZTE in 2010, Telefónica has brought six Movistar brand handsets onto the Latin American market, designed to attend to the personalised needs of customers in the region in different ranges. Four new handsets are expected to be included in the Movistar portfolio over the next few months, in addition to the Movistar Prime model.

According to Strategy Analytics*, most countries in Central & Latin America will more than triple the number of smartphones in the next 4-5 years as they become more affordable and new models are introduced. In fact, according to last report published by Strategy Analytics on this topic, there were around 29 million smartphone users at the end of 2010, a figure which will multiply by more than 4.5x in the next five years.

The new Movistar Prime handset (shown below) can be viewed at Telefónica's stand in the current Mobile World Congress (Pavilion 8, Stand 8A115).