Remember the Balmuda phone that was released in November 2021? Well, not many people in Japan want the smartphone, it seems. The company has announced that it is discontinuing sales of the compact phone. According to Reuters, the company disclosed that the cessation of sales was due to issues that were not disclosed but are said to be related to compliance with Japan’s technical standards.

The company the stoppage of sale on Monday and by Tuesday, its shares saw a decline of as much as 10%. It could be recalled that the company’s shares had gained massively when it first announced an entry into the smartphone market. The shares had since dropped by half after the phone was released for a hefty 104,800 yen ($910) price tag.

The Balmuda Phone is marketed as a premium, high-end smartphone with a compact design but in reality, it looks to have been priced way above its actual value. Apart from packing a smallish 4.9-inch display which some may still find interesting but in actual sense is not a lot of fun to use anymore. Secondly, the phone is powered by a Snapdragon 765 chipset which is nowhere near a flagship processor but a fast mid-range SoC.

Further, the Japanese market is largely dominated by Apple iPhones with just a few Japanese and Chinese brands like Sharp, Xiaomi getting a slice of the pie. Yet, the phone is more expensive than the cheaper iPhone 13 Mini. The reviews have also not been too favorable. Of course, we don’t expect anyone to review the phone as a flagship device and score it well, with that chipset at its heart, coupled with a plastic rear case. There is even just a single rear camera as well as a physical fingerprint scanner and a disappointing 3,500mAh battery under the hood.

We believe this would have been a huge hit if it was sold in the mid-range segment.

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(source)

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In recent times, we have seen companies expanding their operations to previously uncharted territory, like Apple supposedly going into electric vehicles and drone manufacture. Japanese home appliances company Balmuda has unveiled its debut smartphone the Balmuda Phone in Japan. In an event held in the Japanese capital Tokyo, Balmuda Technologies, which is a new arm of the parent company, announced its entry to the smartphone market with a premium and high-end smartphone, the Balmuda Phone.

Balmuda had carved a niche for itself in the Japanese market, with its signature Balmuda Toaster rising to become a very successful product among the Japanese. To weather the inherent difficulties of introducing a new product into a highly saturated market, the company is coming with some concepts that could stand the Balmuda Phone out. It is a smartphone designed with compactness as a key driving force. Its 4.9-inch display offers the crispiest of resolution that is at par with the 4.7-inch iPhone SE. The phone is 13.7mm thick as well as has a short length. It also has a unique look and feels with its curved back and nice-looking bezels.

The Balmuda Phone is priced at $900 and is coming as a mid-ranger to the Japanese market. It is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 765 chipset paired with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage.

The compact phone has a single 48MP primary camera at the rear as well as a fingerprint scanner, while the front-facing camera is 8MP, housed inside a punch-hole cutout at the front. The device will run on a 3,500mAh battery which should sustain the device due to its low power consumption. There is also wireless charging support for the new smartphone.

The phone will run on Android 11 out of the box.

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(via)

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