The Ace 4 sports a 3 MP rear camera and VGA front camera. The phone is priced at Rs 12,000. Samsung has offered Nepal Telecom’s RUIM card worth Rs 200, free talk time worth of Rs 100 and data package of Rs 300 per month for a year with purchase of the Galaxy Ace 4.

Launching the phone, Pranaya Ratna Sthapit, head of HHP Business, Samsung Nepal Office, said that they had released the feature-packed smartphone at an affordable rate in a bid to benefit mobile users in rural markets where GSM coverage is low compared to the CDMA network.

Deepak Malhotra, chairman of Integrated Mobility Solutions, the authorised distributor of Samsung mobiles in Nepal, said the phone was targeted at trekkers and consumers in rural markets.

“People living in various hill regions don’t have adequate access to the GSM network, so we requested Samsung to introduce CDMA supported Android phones in Nepal,” he said. “As the handset has dual SIM functionality, it will also be useful in urban areas having better GSM coverage.” The company aims to sell 90,000 units of the phone within 18 months.

Meanwhile, Nepal Telecom has also planned to expand the number of its CDMA subscribers in the country and provide communication services to remote areas.

“Although we have expanded our network across all 75 districts, people have not been using the service due to lack of an appropriate CDMA supporting smartphone. So we have decided to partner with one of the leading mobile makers Samsung by launching the data package scheme,” said Buddi Prasad Acharya, managing director of NT.