Escobar Fold 1: the drug lord's brother pulls out a phone
To mark the anniversary of his brother Pablo's death, Roberto Escobar is marketing a foldable smartphone that is supposed to compete with Apple's smartphones. But there's a catch.
The name Pablo Escobar is infamous. He was THE drug baron. He was so influential that after his death, Colombia had to deal with an invasion of hippos, animals he had imported from Africa years ago for his private zoo. They are so happy in South America, their new home, that they are reproducing at breakneck speed.
On 2 December 1993, the number 1 of the Medellín cartel was shot dead by members of the "Search Bloc", a coalition of several special police units.
On 2 December 2019, Pablo Escobar's brother, Roberto, launches a foldable smartphone, a bit to celebrate this era marked by drugs.
Features of the Escobar Fold 1
Powered by a Snapdragon 855, this Android 9-powered smartphone packs a screen with 1920 x 1444 pixel resolution, plus 6GB of RAM and 128 or 512GB of storage.
According to the official specifications, the device boasts 16 and 20 MP. In addition to the flash, the camera system features an f-stop of f/1.8 on both lenses and optical image stabilisation. Finally, the battery has a capacity of 4000 mAh.
Besides advertisements steeped in clichés about drug dealers and gangsta rap, Roberto Escobar harbours big ambitions:
I have told many people that I would beat Apple and I will. I cut the networks and retailers, to sell to customers phones that can fold for only $349, phones which in stores cost thousands of dollars by Samsung and others.networks and retailers, to sell to customers phones that can fold for only $349, phones which in shops cost thousands of dollars by Samsung and others.) This is my goal, to beat Apple, and by doing it myself like I always have. "Roberto Escobar)
Roberto Escobar is taking Apple to court. He tells technology magazine DigitalTrends that he intends to sue Apple for US$30 billion on 6 January 2020. In his class action, he accuses the Cupertino-based firm of selling "worthless phones" at "prohibitive prices" for years. That money goes "to the people, that's the way it should be". To win the case, he spent "nearly a million dollars" on lawyers.
That all sounds pretty good to me, doesn't it? I'm talking about the phone, not this whole legal war. But here's the thing, there's a catch to this phone: it's not totally unknown to us.
We're not being played
Wise observers read the whole article with a smile on their faces. A glance at the phone says it all. It's a safe bet, if not frankly very likely, that there's a Royole Flexpai hiding underneath the Escobar Fold 1 with a bit of gold here and an Escobar logo there. Even the screws are in exactly the same place.
So, if you're thinking of spending $399 or $499 on extra storage, I say: refrain! This thing, puts more smoke and mirrors in your eyes than anything else. Royole and the Escobars must have sniffed out the bargain and easy money by slapping a logo on the Flexpai before putting it on the market.
One thing's for sure, it won't be dethroning Apple any time soon. On the other hand, to be a decoy, it is a decoy. <p
Journalist. Author. Hacker. A storyteller searching for boundaries, secrets and taboos – putting the world to paper. Not because I can but because I can’t not.