Fly is an international company headquartered in London, UK. Founded in 2002, in currently manufactures mobile communication devices. Among them are mobile phones, tablets, smartphones and GPS-navigators. In addition to the main office, this organization has offices in Germany, France, Russia, Ukraine and Nigeria. The main sales markets are in Russia, Ukraine and India.
The direct owner of this trademark (Fly) is Meridian Group, founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. In Russia, a subsidiary of Meridian Telecom was created to distribute phones of this brand. Products under the Fly brand have been sold in Russia since 2003. The development of devices was not only in terms of technology. Since 2007, as a result of interaction with by Opera Software version appeared in many phones Opera browser mini. In the same year, Fly launched its first mobile phone with two SIM cards.
Fly sees the main directions in the creation of telecommunications equipment in improving the style, functionality and development of the technological potential of its products. The company's management positions it as European, taking into account the presence of its own design center, bought from a French company. Since 2008, all manufactured equipment has been produced with the expectation of the European market. Up to this time, Fly has been forced to make a small change to the already finished product, slightly changing the design. The phones themselves were ordered from various companies such as Toshiba, Lenovo and ASUS. Many of these companies still make products for Fly today.
A large series of manufactured products are devices of the MS series. This name means that the phone is musical, equipped with a special chip and a headphone jack. Due to the low cost and great functionality, this line of phones is popular in Russia, India and Ukraine. In addition to the music series, there are business versions, devices with support for two SIM cards, models for games and touch controls. There is also a large series budget phones. Since 2011, issued various versions smartphones with a pre-installed version of the Android OS, both with one and two SIM cards.
Fly's current chairman of the board is Andrew Collinge. The President of Fly is Suresh Radhakrishnan.
Gadget manufacturers
For more than ten years, the Fly brand has been on the market. Of course, its mobile devices cannot be called the most popular, but they are quite common in developing countries and the states of the former CIS. As befits a true English gentleman, the company is not looking for glory. GSM-phones remain its main specialization.The company was founded in 2003 in the UK as a result of joint work different firms from different continents. The creators of Fly were the telecommunications "monster" - Meridian Group, which needed this brand to promote its own mobile phones. The first mobile devices went on sale in the same year. The assembly of the very first models was carried out by other manufacturers - for example, the English company Sendo. Over the years of the company's formation, their list has been constantly updated with names like Lenovo, Toshiba, and so on.
Almost nothing is known about the founders of the Meridian Group. The company actively applied the strategy of the so-called "virtual production", which helped to organize its foreign economic activity in the most in the best way. Its concept was aimed at raising capital for various innovative projects, and for assessing the degree of risk (and minimizing it) in such projects. The most important factor while being legally independent. Well, since the 21st century was marked by the unification of the world space based on the Internet, as well as the penetration of virtualization into all economic spheres, the use of this strategy was of decisive importance for the company's activities. It especially justified itself at a time when the PC market experienced a period of excitement. In addition, the Fly company has consistently followed the essence of the strategy. She independently chose the device manufacturer (who, in her opinion, could provide the appropriate level of quality), while she herself at that time was completely focused on design and brand promotion. Fly mobile phones were supposed to combine true English style with European quality. Asian technologies were added to this, and as a result, the consumer could count on a quality product at an affordable price. At the same time, the buyer received the most important advantage: he did not have to overpay a large amount of money just for a promoted brand. And if the very first mobile devices were ordinary copies of the manufacturers' own models, which were sold in the domestic markets, then in the future the company managed to enter the international level with a more technologically advanced model range - the result of the best developments of third-party manufacturers.
On the territory of the Russian Federation, the brand is managed by the Russian division of the Meridian Group. Previously, the company also promoted Korean mobile devices from Maxon in Russia - and, I must say, they were received rather warmly.
So, Meridian Group's promotion of the new brand was quite successful. Fly has become not just a brand of mobile phones, but also a clear example of uniform standards, thoughtful strategies and the right philosophy. From the very beginning, they produced devices of various form factors - from the classic monoblock design to sliders and clamshells. Due to the fact that the needs of the market were recognized in a timely manner, and the company was managed competently, Fly was able to quickly enter the Top 5 brands in the Russian mobile market.
In the summer of 2003, the very first three models of the brand's mobile devices were presented. The first two models - S288 and S588 - have become the most convenient and simple budget phones with minimal functionality and a black and white display. Despite their minimalism, they were cute, high-quality, simple and reliable phones, created on the principle of "nothing more", and therefore they were willingly purchased by beginners in the world. cellular communication. In addition, a more advanced device S688 was presented - with a color display, stylish design and polyphony. It was produced by Bird, which at that time was actively collaborating with the company. If we consider this mobile device in terms of functionality and price segment, this is a budget phone with its own “zest”. It has compact dimensions and low weight (at that time this device was considered super thin). The S688 phone had a rectangular monoblock design without additional design frills, and therefore it was quite suitable for a wide range of consumers. The device was very convenient, and it easily fit into the breast pocket of a shirt. The design was only spoiled by a small protrusion at the back due to the battery. There were three colors in total. The quality of the case also turned out to be quite good. The screen was made using STN technology. It was noteworthy that the control system was different from most known at that time. To call the menu (it looked like an iconic list), the right soft key was used.
On the whole, 2003 and 2004 were introductory years for the Russian market: Fly was still new to the domestic consumer, but already known thanks to its advertising campaign. At the same time, marketers constantly worked on strategies for further promoting the brand. It's no secret that consumer needs are constantly changing and becoming more unpredictable. In this regard, by 2005, the strategy changes dramatically: now the company decides to equip its mobile devices with wide functionality. These features included the ability to use the mobile Internet and various colorful content. Such a mobile device also had to be equipped with convenient control and quality case. This is exactly what the company's engineers focused on when developing a new line of phones.
The models that appeared soon could be called real bestsellers. In particular, the A130 belonged to the middle class and was very affordable. At the same time, he had an attractive design and a classic case solution. Phone equipped with a monochrome display, support for WAP and MMS, as well as 1.4 megabytes of internal memory. The SL200 model was distinguished by a powerful technical base. It was a slider with a standard set of features and lithium-ion battery with a capacity of 720 mAh. Synchronization with a PC and support for WAP were also provided. Both devices had clear high-quality displays.
A special impression on consumers was made by the Z series - elegant and comfortable clamshells. But, even having acquired sophistication and English gloss, these devices have not lost the most important thing - an affordable price, and therefore turned out to be quite popular on the market. Obviously, even a 2% share in the rapidly developing Russian market has become a great achievement for a very young company. In the future, Fly set a course to increase this indicator.
By 2006, the main focus was on design, functionality and support for all the most necessary technologies. The following year became the most important one for Fly in the Russian market: several successful mobile devices were released at once. For example, the B600 business class phone turned out to be very successful. This device was shipped with two batteries, a stereo headset, and a charger. Series B stands for "Business". Despite this, this model also had an entertaining character. It turned out to be a monoblock, the design of which outwardly resembled Nokia.
Another successful phone was the SX210 (the abbreviation SX meant "Style X"). Its release became a landmark event, and it was actually called the flagship. The stylish slider was equipped with a micro-SD memory card, a cable for synchronization with a computer, and a TV cable. The British engineers from the Meridian Group themselves considered this phone to be their innovative development. He had a metal case and hi-tech design - without pretentiousness and extravagance. The color scheme also turned out to be a win-win: black in combination with silver is usually popular with both sexes, regardless of occupation, income level, tastes, and so on. The thickness of this device was only 15 millimeters.
In 2007, Fly began to cooperate with Opera Software, as a result of which the corresponding browser soon appeared on all mobile devices of this brand. By the same time include the release of phones with support for 2 SIM-cards.
In the summer, a model called the B700 appeared, which became really popular. It was a full-fledged phone that could simultaneously work with 2 SIM-cards in active mode. In the second half of 2007, the company immediately introduced two new devices, and also released its first GPS-navigator. It is worth noting that the price of the latest device was more than reasonable.
Having released the navigator, the company started to fashion mobile phones. One of them was the Hummer HT2. This device inherited from the famous SUV bright appearance(yellow color is quite often used in it). It had a compact size, a standard monoblock design, a small screen, and an affordable price. In addition, when turned on, the device made a characteristic sound resembling a starting engine, and when turned off, a sound resembling a slamming car door. All default screensavers were also auto-themed. True, its body could hardly be called too strong, and in this it differs from the car of the same name. Be that as it may, the Hummer HT2 concept as a whole turned out to be successful.
In 2006, Fly managed to double the market share of its mobile devices. This happened due to a clear separation of the lines of the presented phones. For example, business phones designed for business people had a powerful organizer and other useful features, and they were different from multimedia and all other types of devices. In addition, Meridian Group began to produce digital cameras, players and other equipment. All this equipment had an affordable price. The company paid enough attention to innovation and high quality of its products.
Two years later, the brand entered the top five mobile brands in Russia, and also gained great popularity in Kazakhstan and Ukraine. In addition, the company acquired a research center that specialized in design. Now she had enough capacity to work on her own design of her devices, and she focused on the European market. Until that time, almost all Fly phones were assembled at third-party factories.
In 2011, the company first launched a tablet under Android control. The device was called Fly Vision. The tablet is very compact. It was a budget device with a plastic case that did not leave marks. The tablet had a 7-inch screen that responded to touch with fingers or a stylus, with good viewing angles. It weighed 350 grams and was equipped with 4 gigabytes internal memory, 600 megabyte processor, Wi-Fi module etc.
2012 allowed the company to rise to a new stage of development. She was the first to release MTK-based smartphones and an excellent line of Android smartphones. The company also announced that most mobile devices will now have dual SIM (which will work in standby mode), Android OS, multitasking support, advanced multimedia capabilities and a high-quality screen.
The following year, Fly expanded its line of tablets with the release of four new devices, and also took third place in terms of sales of mobile devices in Russia. In addition, her phones have received certification in Belarus. The flagship IQ4412 Coral also appeared - however, it supported only one SIM card, despite the company's statement in the previous year.
In the first half of 2014, the Russian mobile market showed an unprecedented growth, and the Fly brand was in second place in terms of smartphone sales in Russia, becoming the fastest growing brand. One of the main reasons for the growth was the increase in the range of smartphones in the budget price segment. By the way, exactly Russian market remains the most attractive for the Meridian Group. In addition, the most important sales markets are the Indian and Ukrainian markets.
3 years ago
Fly-branded mobile phones are of high quality and at the same time not so expensive compared to many other popular brands. They provide the user with attractive functionality.
Studies show that they are most popular in the post-Soviet space. They also entered the markets of many developing countries.
It cannot be said that such phones are produced by any single company, since in a particular case, consumers are essentially dealing with a “virtual manufacturer”. That is, there is no specific Fly company. This is the name of the brand under which the production of popular mobile phones is established.
The brand is owned by Meridian Group, which was founded in 2002 in the UK. However, the company's offices are currently present in many countries. And Russia is no exception.
The first Fly phones could be bought already in 2003. The brand itself was registered in 2002. The British company Meridian Group only takes care of design and marketing, and then orders their products from third-party OEM assemblers. And only then the products hit the shelves with the Fly brand. The first models were assembled by manufacturers such as Bird and Sendo.
At the first stage, manufacturers made their own mobile phones from ready-made mobile phones. That is, they simply remade them. This is how Fly phones appeared. However, the company did not stop there. She eventually decided to follow the path own developments which required an entirely new design.
Fly, of course, does not have its own businesses. The assembly of all mobile phones is carried out at the facilities of partner companies, of which there are many. The list of manufacturers was replenished gradually with other, very well-known names. For example, Mitsubishi, Inventec, Longcheer, Sewon, Lenovo, ASUS, Toshiba.
Main sales markets Fly phones v Lately, except for the CIS countries, became the countries of Eastern Europe and Asia. But it must be admitted that a lot is being done to enter the markets of developed European countries.
The ongoing efforts show that the quality of Fly mobile phones is getting better year by year. New progressive Android smartphones are already being produced. In terms of functionality, they are not inferior even to the leading flagships. In addition, they have another great advantage: they are more affordable.
Many Fly models are phones that can work with two SIM cards at once. It is interesting to note that cameras, a GPS navigator and a tablet computer are already being produced under the Fly brand.
Not so long ago, a new flagship appeared on the Russian mobile device market - the Fly phone from the manufacturing company of the same name. All smartphones of this company can be attributed to a series of "budget" mobile devices. They are designed for a wide range of consumers, in particular for those who cannot afford the models of famous brands, or for those who do not want to overpay for a famous logo. The company offers devices of reasonable price and good quality.
Fly
Reviews about the phones of this company "are" extremely positive among consumers. Finally, gadgets have appeared that have good characteristics and fairly high performance. Thanks to this, the popularity and, accordingly, the demand for the devices of this company continue to grow rapidly. The manufacturing company, in turn, is not going to stop there and continues to replenish the market with new models of smartphones.
Specifications
Main and main characteristic such a gadget as the Fly cell phone (consumer reviews only confirm this), is the ability to work together with two SIM cards. a very big plus. The fact is that some mobile operators offer such packages. mobile internet, where using conventional communication services (SMS, incoming and outgoing calls) is inconvenient and sometimes expensive. Other carriers have very low internet speeds. Thanks to this smartphone, you can, without changing your mobile operator, connect to high speed internet.
The smartphone is powered by operating system Android 4.1. The 4.5-inch display has fairly good color reproduction. More detailed information can be viewed on the company's website in the Fly menu: "Reviews". The following can be said about the phones of this company: despite the low cost, the smartphone's processor is quite technologically advanced. Applications open quickly, do not hang, it is possible to play games latest generation(capacious 3D versions).
Depending on the model, the smartphone may have either 516 MB of built-in memory or 1 GB. Volume external memory small, but can be expanded up to 32 GB through the use of micro-SD cards.
Powerful enough. If you use the phone to the maximum: watching videos, surfing the web and reading books, then a full charge will last for about 4-6 hours.
conclusions
And now about the novelties of Fly: reviews about the phones of those who have been using these gadgets for a long time inspire confidence - they make you think about buying such a device. Of course, you should take a sober look at things and understand that for such a price you will not get such an advanced gadget as, for example, Samsung. In this case, you need to decide what you need: brand or functionality.
For example, Fly (reviews about consumer phones only confirm this) will be just a wonderful gift for a child. And the beloved child now has a smartphone “with an exit”, and if he loses or breaks the equipment, then you can survive.
If you are still thinking about whether or not to get a new gadget from this company, check with sales consultants what are the reviews about the Fly phone, and believe me, you will be pleasantly surprised!
This article will focus on one of the leading manufacturers of the so-called "second tier" of mobile phones, the Meridian Group and its trademark Fly.
Fly cell phones occupy a very special place in the mobile market. Unlike almost all other manufacturing companies, the so-called "virtual" production takes place here, which is entirely tied to OEM / ODM cooperation with contract manufacturers of mobile phones. This strategy is more typical for other telecommunications industries, in particular, for the desktop market (providers of ready-made solutions from computer components under its own trademarks), as well as the segment of digital players, the lion's share of manufacturers of which is located in Southeast Asia, while the most famous brands are scattered around the world (including Europe and Russia). The owner of the Fly brand, the British company Meridian Group, purchases ready-made hardware platforms from various third-party manufacturers and provides them with marketing support and promotion under one common brand. All this makes it possible to pursue a rather flexible policy, both in the field of filling the product line and in the field of product prices, since the company can choose from a number of ready-made solutions from various ODM manufacturers. However, in reality, this approach is not always the best for the company's model range. The abundance within the product line of both diverse and similar solutions, often even competing with each other, leads to a blurring of the model range. The desire to form separate subfamilies consisting of niche products (such as dual phones, image phones, musical devices, etc.) intended for narrow target groups splits the line into many directions, each of which is represented by several products at best; at the same time, there is a constant process of formation of new and folding old series, “flowing” of models from one to another (in particular, dual phones from the B-series of business devices to the DualSIM line that stood out separately with the closure of the previous one). All this does not have the best effect on the perception of Fly phones by users, especially given the status of a “second-tier” manufacturer. However, in the past the situation has been even more difficult for the company, especially in terms of quality and functionality. During several years of being on the mobile market, Fly phones have gained a very mixed reputation, in many respects "thanks" to far from the most competitive products of the first years. Although "childhood diseases" of their devices did not escape, perhaps, none of the manufacturers cell phones, but the Fly trademark has been present on the mobile market for a very short time, just a few years.
Trademark History
The Meridian Group company was founded in the UK at the end of 2002, and already in March 2003, the first phones under the Fly trademark appeared. The company's headquarters is located in London. At the same time, the Russian mobile phone market was initially considered a priority for the company, and it has not lost its role today (the share of Fly phones in Russia today is more than 4%, which is a fairly good result against the backdrop of regression of other second-tier manufacturers). Distribution of products on the domestic market is carried out by Meridian Group's subsidiary, Meridian Telecom, which was originally known in connection with the promotion of Korean Maxon mobile phones, but later switched to Fly devices itself. Today, the Meridian Group is not only engaged in the production of mobile phones under the Fly brand, but is also starting to work in the market of paints and coatings (the company also includes JK Surface Coatings, which cooperates with British Petroleum and Shell). As far as mobile phones are concerned, since the first models Meridian Group has been pursuing a strategy of cooperating with ODM-manufacturers and releasing their products under its own Fly brand. At the very beginning, the company's lineup was formed by solutions from three manufacturers, Chinese Bird, British Sendo and Korean Sewon. Subsequently, the product line was replenished with mobile phones from other companies, mainly from China, Taiwan and Korea. In addition to Russia, the priority markets for the Meridian Group were the UK, later India, a number of other Asian and African countries and the CIS, in particular, Kazakhstan, Ukraine. However, it is Russia that remains the main market for Fly phones. Among other things, this leads to the timely launch of new models on the market - a minimum of time passes from the moment of the announcement to the appearance on the windows of cellular communication stores. The history of Fly's mobile devices is quite revealing, especially in light of the current position of minor manufacturers. Having first appeared on the domestic market in 2003, the Fly trademark was just one of many represented in Russia. As you know, in the period of 2003-2004, the market was extremely saturated with supply, even among the second-tier manufacturers, a serious struggle was unfolding - along with Alcatel, Philips, Sagem presented today, these were Panasonic, the same Maxon, Pantech, Haier, many other Chinese and Korean brands - Kenned, Amoi, etc. , seeking to catch on to the domestic market, there were also local brands such as Enol. However, Fly mobile phones have always been distinguished by massive advertising support. True, this could not prevent the flow of claims for individual models (due to the lack of an extensive service network, often the absence of any components or accessories, such as batteries, charging device, data cables - and where could they come from if the model range was a hodgepodge of products from several ODM assemblers?). All this led to unflattering user reviews, the echoes of which can be heard today (although, in fairness, it should be noted that unsuccessful models in the Fly line are still found, for example, E105). The product line of the first two years was formed mainly from inexpensive "image" solutions, most of which were clamshells, mainly for a female audience. Low functional equipment was complemented by not the most interesting design. There were also quite amusing solutions, for example, "powder boxes" in the spirit of Panasonic Fly Z300, Z500 clamshells. Gradually, the product line of the company was replenished with an increasing number of models, if in 2004 there were a dozen and a half of them, then the next year more than 20 new devices were released. Successful agreements with mobile retail contributed to the promotion of Fly phones. The company's mobile phones were presented in Euroset cellular stores. During periods of aggravation of relations between the latter and leading vendors (for example, the situation with Samsung), Fly models were promoted along with other representatives of the second tier (in particular, Pantech, when their sales were stimulated). All this led to the fact that a couple of years ago the Fly brand occupied 2% of the mobile market in the country, today this figure has doubled, and is over 4%, in quantitative terms, Fly's sales in 2007 amounted to over 700 thousand devices. Today at model range The company presents sufficiently high-quality and functional products, but the most interesting of them for five years on the market are discussed below.Iconic company models
Already from the first models, the company's product line was rather heterogeneous, consisting of products various manufacturers. Under the brand name Fly at different times came out: phones Chinese company Bird, Telson TDG-7060 (Fly M760a), NEC N200 (Fly X3), ASUS V55 (Fly V25), NewGen C620 (Fly Z300), C710 (Fly Z400), NewGen T1100 (Fly X7), Sendo M550 (Fly M550) ), Toshiba TS2060 (Fly 2060), etc. Among them were quite a few interesting models, which we will now consider.One of the first mobile phones released under the Fly trademark was the S688 model (an ODM product of the Chinese Bird). The handset was interesting not so much for its functional filling (the STN color screen was, as they say, the highlight of the program, we also note the presence of polyphony), but for the advertising support that played with the main advantage of the model in many prints - compactness and surprising subtlety by the standards of 2003 (although the laurels Ericsson T28 were unattainable, and the time for thin phones had not yet come). Nevertheless, the company managed to establish itself not just as another manufacturer of budget phones, but a massive advertising campaign demonstrated the seriousness of the newcomer's intentions on the market.
The Fly X7 model was not chosen because of any resounding success in the market. Rather, on the contrary, it was an exclusively niche solution. However, it was interesting in the first place as bright representative contract manufacturing in the product line (the ODM manufacturer of the model was the Chinese NewGen). The appearance of the model resembled a PDA or a communicator, the touch screen only strengthened the similarity. Absence numeric keypad imposed restrictions on the ergonomics of the device, while the display was inferior to those installed in communicators in terms of resolution (only 176x220 pixels). The dimensions of the device were also unusually small compared to Windows Mobile devices – 88x51x15 mm and weighed 76 g. average in volume and functionality phone book for 300 contacts, MMS and GPRS support. The only one (besides touch screen, of course) the highlight was the navigation wheel-"joystick" on the left side of the device a la JogDial in Sony phones. Also, the device was marked by an interesting function, such as handwriting recognition.
3. Fly MX200
One of the first truly successful Fly phones on the market. It was a neat clamshell with an excellent price / quality ratio, at the same time it had an interesting design and subsequently underwent several restyling (models Fly 200i, 230, etc.). The phone was distinguished by the presence of a color external screen and dedicated player control keys on the body, the ability of the player to work in the background, the presence of an infrared port, a large amount of internal memory (60 MB); at the same time, the device was not without the traditional disadvantages of Fly, in particular, the small size of the phone book.
The first experience of the Meridian Group in terms of the release of smartphones under the trademark Fly. In fact, the device was developed by the Taiwanese ODM assembler TechFaithWireless and was a budget solution built on the TI OMAP 730 platform (processor clock speed 200 MHz). One of the main advantages of the apparatus was thinness. 12 mm for an inexpensive "smart phone" at that time was a small thickness. The device also featured a large QVGA-screen and two-megapixel camera. Others distinctive features from a number of analogues (Voxtel W210, RoverPC M5, etc.) were support for a different type of memory card (miniSD instead of microSD), extended memory (128 MB ROM instead of 64) and a standard miniUSB connector. At the same time, the smartphone was a complete copy of another device, i-mate SPL. Subsequently, the IQ-120 slider was also released under the Fly brand, and that was the end of it.
5. Fly LX800 Sapphire
A one-of-a-kind premium product from a second-tier manufacturer (albeit at a very modest price of 12,000 rubles). The design of the device was made with a claim to exclusivity - it was distinguished by high-quality case materials (sapphire glass screen), seasoned exterior. The checkerboard pattern of key colors was borrowed from LG devices (KG800 Chocolate), but it looked interesting. There were, as usual, two screens. External - a small square screen that does not stand out in any way, except protective glass. The internal one is a typical QVGA-display for representatives of this segment, with standard color and brightness. In terms of communications, the device is difficult to attribute to the leaders. Bluetooth did not support EDR, there was no infrared port, EDGE. However, all the requested functions were available, such as an organizer, mail client, file manager, other applications. Player implementation on good level, supported background mode work. There is an FM radio. The camera in the device is again 2-megapixel, without autofocus. Subsequently, the company abandoned the production of premium products, the maximum that it could offer the user was the Fly LX600 clamshell in a metal case.
