2degrees has announced the first Te Reo Mâori smartphone.
The availability of the Huawei Android phone was announced yesterday at the Te Huarahi Tika Trust annual general meeting in Auckland, where Mâori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples took the first call on the device.
According to a statement from 2degrees, the mobile operator "worked closely with Huawei to translate all of the menus in its IDEOS X3 smartphone to Te Reo Mâori.
In the statement, 2degrees director and Hautaki Trust Board member Bill Osborne says making Te Reo Mâori available in today’s mobile technology was a vision that the Hautaki Trust had when it helped found the company.
“Through Hautaki Trust, our primary objective was to engage Mâori in the telecommunications industry,”Osborne says. “A further aim was to ensure that the Mâori culture and language were embraced by modern information and communications technology, and the IDEOS X3 smartphone with Te Reo menu is testimony to the commitment to this goal by 2degrees and Mâori.”
The statement continues: "Osborne says that these new handsets and a range of other initiatives demonstrate the value of the Mâori investment in 2degrees, which has already delivered significant benefit to the New Zealand economy.
"A recently released report by Venture Consulting showed $2.24 billion of benefits to the economy have already flown from the creation of 2degrees."
The Te Reo IDEOS X3 will be available from 2degrees retail stores before Christmas.