On the same day that homegrown smartphone maker Starmobile unveiled its game-changing dual rear-camera smartphone at a launch event in Mandaluyong City, the company also announced the announcement of Filipino telecom executive Jerry Manus as its chief operating officer (COO).
A former top executive of tech giants Apple and Nokia in the Indochina region, Manus is expected to bring international experience and expertise to the fledgling Filipino firm.
Manus? most recent role in Apple was to pioneer and establish the official presence of iOS in Indochina, leading the company?s dominance in the market.
Prior to Apple, Manus was the country manager of Nokia Cambodia and Laos where he was instrumental in leading the company to sustain market leadership.
Before venturing abroad, Manus was a key executive of Nokia Philippines where he led distribution and retail operations.
?I am more than thrilled to be part of a homegrown brand,? said Manus. ?This will be a great opportunity for Starmobile to further prove that a Filipino company can stand toe-to-toe with the best of the world,? he said.
Apart from his experience in telco, Manus was also part of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies such as Mead Johnson, Colgate Palmolive, Reckitt Benckiser, and Nestle Philippines.
While Manus did not disclose the details of the strategy he has mapped out for Starmobile, he said it is important for the company to keep on innovating so as not to relevance its relevance in the market.
?My former company was the biggest handset maker in the world but it became irrelevant in a short period of time,? he said, referring to the Finnish brand Nokia.
For his part, Starmobile president Ulysses Lao said the company is thrilled to have Manus on board.
?To say that we are excited to have Mr. Manus join Starmobile is an understatement,? he said. ?With his proficiency, he will be able to lead Starmobile to a bigger and brighter future.?
Lao also said in an interview with reporters that it is not far-fetched that Starmobile would manufacture its products in the Philippines as he noted the fact that labor wages in China are now thrice the amount of what local workers receive.
Meanwhile, the company also launched its new flagship model Starmobile Knight Spectra, which it claimed as the most advanced Filipino cameraphone with a dual rear-camera.
The unit?s two camera modules work together to help a user take glorius photos. Here?s how the system works, according to Starmbile: the 2-megapixel sensor gathers data like light, exposure, and distance, allowing the 13-megapixel sensor to take brilliant photos more quickly and accurately.
It also has the unique Star Cam functions, which enable users to do the following:
? Choose the focal point of a shot after taking a photo. All the user has to do is tap on the object (or person, face, etc.) to focus on. With Star Cam?s Super ReFocus, the dual rear camera takes photos at 10 varying lengths then compresses them into a single file.
? Take photos at exactly the right exposure level. Chroma Flash lets users take two photos ? one with flash and one without ? in rapid succession, combining them into a single file for a better overall picture.
? Zoom in without compromising photo texture and sharpness. Opti Zoom shoots multiple photos simultaneously to improve the quality of those close-up shots.
But Starmobile said the Knight Spectra is more than just a camera with smartphone capabilities.
For one thing, its can multitask, play graphics-heavy games, download files, and stream videos, thanks to a Qualcomm Octa Core CPU, 3GB of RAM, LTE connectivity, and 32GB of internal memory which can be expanded with a micro SD card.
Users can also get entertainment on the go with the Knight Spectra?s 5.5-inch full-HD AMOLED screen and Digital TV (DTV) function.
With DTV, not only users can watch cable quality TV wherever DTV services are available, but this free service lets users record shows in real time.
The Starmobile Knight Spectra is availble nationwide beginning the fourth week of November 2015 with a retail price of P14,990.
