News

Nothing Phone (1) Is Here, And You Can Afford It

All models of the Phone (1) are available in black or white across more than 40 markets including Saudi Arabia, Israel, and United Arab Emirates.

Published

2 years ago

July 14, 2022

David Morelo

Nothing

A new contender in the smartphone arena is here, and its name is Phone (1). The company behind it, Nothing, was founded in 2020 by Carl Pei, after the Swedish entrepreneur left OnePlus, which he co-founded along with Pete Lau.

The Phone (1) is actually Nothing’s second product. The first was a pair of Teenage Engineering-designed wireless earbuds, called Ear (1).

nothing ear 1 earbuds

Just like the wireless earbuds before it, the Phone (1) attempts to grab the attention of consumers with an unusual design and better features than what its starting price of £399 (around $475 USD) would suggest.

The base model comes with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage. It costs £50 to increase the amount of storage space to 256 GB, and £100 to also upgrade RAM to 12 GB. All models of the Phone (1) are available in black or white across more than 40 markets including Saudi Arabia, Israel, and United Arab Emirates.

The back of the smartphone features unique light strips that visually set it apart from all other devices on the market. But the light strip isn’t just about looks. For example, it indicates how full the battery is, and it can also flash to let you know that you have a new notification.

nothing phone 1 black and white

When looking at the rear side of the Phone (1), you’ll also notice two camera lenses: one standard and one ultrawide. Below both lenses are 50 MP sensors, and the main camera even has optical and electronic image stabilization (OIS and EIS), so you should be able to take sharp pictures even in low-light conditions.

nothing phone 1 camera setup

It’s worth noting that the ultrawide camera doubles as a macro camera because it can focus as close as 4 centimeters from an object.

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The front side of the Phone (1) houses a 6.55-inch 1080p OLED display that can reach up to 1,200 nits of peak brightness and a refresh rate of 120 Hz. The display has a small hole-punch cutout for the front-facing 16 MP selfie camera, and it integrates an in-display fingerprint sensor.

nothing os official screenshots

Powering the Phone (1) is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G Plus processor. While not as capable as Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, it should still keep the phone’s Android-based operating system, Nothing OS, running smoothly for a long time.

News

Paymob Extends Series B Funding To $72M Amid Continued Growth

The financial services provider has secured an extra $22 million after strong performance in its core market of Egypt.

Published

23 hours ago

September 12, 2024

Nour Nasir

paymob extends series b funding to $72 million amid continued growth

Leading financial services provider Paymob has secured an additional $22 million in a funding extension, bringing its Series B total to $72 million.

The funding was spearheaded by EBRD Venture Capital, with support from Endeavor Catalyst. Existing backers such as PayPal Ventures, BII, FMO, A15, Nclude, and Helios Digital Ventures also participated, reaffirming their confidence in Paymob’s business model and potential in the regional fintech industry.

This extension comes on the back of Paymob’s strong performance in its core market of Egypt, where it has experienced 6x revenue growth since the initial Series B in Q2 2022. With the Series B extension and continued profitability in Egypt, Paymob is well-positioned to further its expansion strategy across the MENA region.

Islam Shawky, Co-founder and CEO of Paymob, commented: “We are very excited by our strong prospects in Egypt – where we hold a market-leading position – and the significant traction experienced in the UAE since launching operations there. This funding will help Paymob fully capitalize on the momentum in our established markets, as we accelerate our GCC roll-out. We remain committed to creating cutting-edge infrastructure enabling SMEs across the region to thrive in the digital economy and are proud of our continued impact”.

Also Read: Zoho Expands Qatar Operations & Releases New Survey Data

The expansion into GCC markets has been driven by Paymob’s initial Series B funding of $50 million, raised in 2022 and led by Kora Capital, PayPal Ventures, and Clay Point. The investment fueled Paymob’s growth, allowing it to launch its mobile app in 2023 and grow its merchant base by 3.5 times, now serving nearly 350,000 merchants across MENA.

Paymob has also expanded its payment acceptance suite to offer 50 payment methods through its gateway, POS terminals, and the Paymob app, providing the region’s most comprehensive fintech solution. The company recently introduced embedded checkout services for Shopify and WooCommerce, further demonstrating its commitment to empowering small and medium businesses across the region.