When Vladimir Putin went on an official visit to China earlier this month, brought as a gift to the Chinese leader Ji Xinping a cellphone. Give a mobile to a Chinese might seem like offer an icecream to an Eskimo. But Putin’s one is not an ordinary smartphone, is the Russian answer to Apple, Samsung & co.
It’s called Yotaphone and is already in its second generation, because the first did not go very well. It is said that when he was given one to Dimitri Medvedev, famous for being a fan of the iPhone, he had said “At Apple will be nervous.” But it is unclear whether his was a wisecrack. It was only a year ago, yet it seems a century has passed. The West had not returned to be the enemy number one, the syndrome of encirclement was not at dangerous levels like now and no one even dreamed of smashing iPad and iPhone with a hammer just because they are American products. Today the symbolic and political value of a smartphone “sdelano v Rossii” (do not call it “made in Russia”) is even higher. For a country under sactions largely dependent on natural resources, without light industry and no real advanced services – but not second to other in technology – is almost a duty to show it can manage without the others. That is why Putin put it in his suitcase for China.
More than a phone
The new version of Yotaphone will be officially unveiled in early December. Although in reality it is not entirely Russian (is made with Chinese components), it is becoming a strategic product almost as a weapon. The fact that it appeared in the hands of Putin is the proof. A couple of months ago rumors that Yota Devices, the Yotaphone producer, was going to move to Canada started spreading. “YotaPhone is and will remain a Russian product, entirely projected and developed in Russia,” quickly declared the company representative, Larisa Pogonina.
The topic is sensitive, and there is more than just pride for a national product. In March this year Rostec, the state IT company strongly wanted by Putin in 2007, has acquired 25% of Yota Devices. It means that a quarter of the Yotaphone is public owned. Rostec, which has partnerships with large strategic companies, also owns Kalashnikov Concern, the one that produces the famous Russian submachine gun. Rostec CEO, Sergey Chemezov, is on the board of Putin’s United Russia party since 2006, and more recently on the list of individual sanctions of the US, due to the Ukrainian crisis.
A very special one
The Yotaphone, though, is special. Its back, instead of a colorful cover, has a second e-ink screen, just like the one used on e-book reader. The pros are many: if you read a text and you do not need color, the e-ink screen has a very low consumption and the battery can last months. And if you are running out of charge, and for example you need a map, you can view it and turn off the phone. It will not disappear, because the electronic ink display requires power only to refresh and not for displaying pages. Not to mention the pleasure of reading and the comfort for the eyes.
Such an object could only be born in Russia. No need to bring up the matrioshkas, just walk into any electronics store of the federation and look at the the e-book reader shelves. While our shops display just a couple of models, in Russia there are dozens. Even though Russians are no longer voracious readers as they used to, just take a subway ride to realize how common electronic books are.
In short, much more than a phone. In every way.
