Filipino firm begins assembly of feature phones in Laguna

Filipino technology company Star Telecom Alliance Resources, Inc. (STAR, Inc.), the parent of smartphone brand Starmobile, has started full commercial operation at its plant in Calamba, Laguna, making it the first Filipino brand to assemble mobile phones locally.

Starmobile COO Michael Chen said in a statement they will initially assemble 20,000 units of the UNO B208 feature phone at its Laguna facility.

“Since we started five years ago, it has been the company’s goal to contribute to the local economy and provide employment by assembling phones in the Philippines,” said Chen.

“Aside from bringing us a step closer to our dream of building up the Philippines an important player in the global tech scene, this will also benefit our bottom line, as it will result in more cost and time-efficient logistics and shipment around the country. In addition, because we will have parts and an assembly facility locally, we expect this to improve our after-sales support for our customers.”

While smartphones are more popular than ever in the Philippines, Chen said that demand for basic call-and-text feature phones still thrives in the country. Their affordability allows them to be great daily drivers for a large segment of the population, while their focused calland-text services and compact screens allow them to be very power efficient.

The Starmobile UNO B208 is a dualSIM feature phone with an FM radio, camera with flash, expandable memory, flashlight, multimedia playback, and a battery life of up to two days. It is available in red, blue, or black.

Established in 2011, Starmobile is the mobile devices division of Star Telecom Alliance Resources, Inc. (STAR, Inc.). It is founded by telco industry experts with extensive experience in retail and product development.

Since its first Android device offering, Starmobile has officially become the winningest Philippine smartphone brand with a slew of innovation awards from reputable media outfits. The company’s flagship KNIGHT series, has won top awards since 2013 — a feat that has not been replicated by any local device company.