German company hits Kickstarter target for Google-less smartphone

A German project has achieved its goal on Kickstarter for the development of an Android smartphone without Google services. The smartphone runs on its own software based on Android Open Source Project. Customers can also opt for Ubuntu Touch.

The Volla Phone should come from Gigaset’s factories and should appear this fall, according to the Kickstarter page. A total of 70 backers came to the project, who together contributed a little more than 20,000 euros to have the phone put into production. It is already the second project. The first time Volla tried to raise 350,000 euros, but failed.

The phone has a Helio P23-soc from MediaTek, combined with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, which users should be able to expand with a micro-SD card. The display has a size of 14.5 x 6.8 cm with a diagonal of 6.3 “. It is an LCD with a notch for the 16-megapixel front camera. On the back is a 16-megapixel camera and a second 2-megapixel camera. A fingerprint scanner can be found there.The phone has a 5000mAh battery that can charge wirelessly, while wired charging is possible with a maximum of 18W.

The software, Volla OS, is based on AOSP and is therefore compatible with Android apps. The company does not supply Google apps, according to its own words to protect the privacy of users. There is, however, a VPN app in the software: Hide.me. The software should also reduce distractions by replacing the home screen with a ‘Springboard’, on which users can reach apps by typing in the name. The Springboard also has integration with contacts, which means that the text ‘@arnoud hi, how are you?’ a message that reads ‘hi, how are you?’ to a contact named Arnoud.

Users also get the option to get the phone shipped with Ubuntu Touch. The Volla Phone should be released this fall for around 350 euros.

Video of the previous crowdfunding campaign