Sagem… they’re not a brand we discuss much here on SMS Text News.  Focusing purely on the low-cost end of the market, in the pre-pay market, an invitation to the launch event at London’s Icebar and the opportunity to learn a bit more about this manufacturer was too good to miss.

There, set in huge blocks of ice, was Sagem’s latest handset - the T-Mobile exclusive my721x “so ice”.  I’m not sure about the name, but the styling certainly looked good - brushed aluminium in a slim candy-bar form.  Talking to Julien Bertheuil, Head of Sales UK and Ireland, he highlighted the key features of the device:

• A 3.2 megapixel camera
• Bluetooth
• FM Radio
• Stereo speakers
• Opera mini web browser
• ‘Real time’ battery-life estimate (expressed in hours and minutes of standby or talk)
• Extended language support, including Polish

The device is ‘only’ a 2G / GPRS unit, but as Julien pointed out this handset is priced at £69.99 on PAYG - a  competitive price point where the other headline specifications and styling would be most desirable to consumers.  Access to purchase phones is also a major issue, he told me, for the youth and budget market for handsets in this price-level so it will be available through the retailer Argos who have stores on most UK high streets and a large online presence as well as T-Mobile’s own stores. Sagem, it seems, are looking to shift a lot of these…

These certainly aren’t smartphones, but the spec and finish look promising.  Samantha, SMS Text News’ latest recruit and official ‘young person’ will be reviewing it soon.  Look-out for her write-up.

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Speaking to Thomas Brenac, Managing Director of Sagem UK and Ireland, about where this handset existed in Sagem’s range I was surprised to hear he considered this ‘higher end’.  There have been, he explained, 3 key price points for some time: ‘under £30′, ‘under £50′ and ‘under £70′ with a fourth emerging segment of ‘under £10′. I was surprised… sure there are handsets available in this range, but do the specs differ so visibly and are consumers so price sensitive?