OTTAWA – It’s a little more than a week into its crowd source funding campaign and Frank Technologies has yet to meet its initial three day target, amid many questions being asked about the device itself.
Fahd Alhattab, CEO at the cheeky upstart, told Cartt.ca last week that he was confident the company could hit 30% of its goal within the first three days.
Since launching on Indiegogo (click HERE for Frank’s campaign page), the company is shy of that target. As of 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Frank had raised $59,684 from 309 backers, about 24% if its $250,000 goal. The company will use the money to begin mass production of a mid-range phone whose starting retail price is $180.
In an interview with Cartt.ca this week, Alhattab acknowledged that the company is behind its target but added a big push is on the horizon.
“We’ve got a few tricks up our sleeves in terms of engaging some more users, engaging a larger audience and getting our phone out to more reviewers. I think the more people that have it, the more people that see the product, and get it in their hands, the more credibility our campaign will have,” he said.
On the day Frank’s Indiegogo campaign launched questions were raised about the frank (or “just another f*#king phone” as it’s described on Indiegogo) and whether it was actually a newly designed device or a version of an off-the-shelf Android model already available in China – with some small software and hardware tweaks. Android Police was the first to raise red flags, noting the frank was simply a knock off from Leegoog, a Chinese manufacturer that sells devices through Alibaba.
Even though the frank was going to run on Android 7.0, the device “is anything but original,” read the Android Police critique. (For more, click HERE.)
Alhattab disputes those claims noting that it’s simply wrong to suggest that the frank is an off-the-shelf device with some minor tweaks. There has been considerable customization in the device particularly in terms of the operating system, upgrades to the cameras, ensuring the device will work in North America and quality assurance, he explained.
As an example, he noted that when the company decided to use Android 7.0, it required some hardware changes.
“We’ve had to actually replace part of the motherboard to ensure that it can handle all the updates that are going to come through (Android) 7.0,” stated Alhattab.
Besides, as a small start up, it was going to cost too much to build a phone from scratch, an amount Alhattab pegged at about “a couple of hundred thousand dollars.” So Frank looked at five existing molds and phone designs and from that was able to choose a mold in which it could customize an existing phone design to meet its desired specifications.
Android Police also took aim at the frank’s price and the company’s suggestions that it will disrupt the smartphone market. Early bird units are the only ones going for $180, but that price will rise to $233, it said, adding for that price, a Moto G5 “would be a better device in every regard.”
The Frank CEO questioned the blog’s analysis on this, noting that the frank will have better specs and be cheaper. According to a quick comparison from Cartt.ca, the Moto G5 has a $250 price tag and comes equipped with 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of storage, a 13 MP rear camera and 5 MP front facing camera. Those specs do not measure up to the frank which will have 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB of storage, a 16 MP rear camera and 8 MP front facing camera. The early bird price of $180 is much lower as well.
When it comes to disrupting the North American smartphone market, Alhattab says “our disruption is not so much that we’re providing one phone that’s going to revolutionize or disrupt” the market but more of a movement where consumers should be asking the big smartphone makers why their devices are so expensive. (Ed note: We assume few missed the launch of the newest iPhone this week, which will retail in Canada for well north of $1,000.)
“So we’re hoping that it disrupts beyond just one product but the line of products that will come after and the theme and the brand and the thinking behind it,” he said.
