Russian ‘iPhone 4′ Unveiled with GLONASS/GPS chip ~ Tech News and Review

Sistema CEO Vladimir Evtushenkov has unveiled the first Russian-developed smartphone with a GLONASS/GPS chip at a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The smartphone will have functionality similar to Apple’s iPhone 4 but have more precise navigation capability thanks to using the Russian global satellite navigation system, GLONASS.The first Russian GLONASS/GPS chip will be manufactured on a 90nm process. The phone was developed by Russian electronics company Sitronics, which is controlled by Sistema, together with Qualcomm and ZTE.The Russian ‘iPhone 4′ will be retailing for a price of 10,990 Roubles ($360) from March 2011.

The GLONASS GPS system combines with a matching 90 nanometer Qualcomm chip to provide extremely accurate GPS directions. The handset is considered an "iPhone beater" in Russia because of its 93% GPS accuracy rate versus an alleged 64% rate of accuracy for the Apple iPhone's GPS. As far as other specs are concerned, it seems that Apple has nothing to worry about. Well-known Russian tech writer Eldar Murtazin has discovered that the phone is loaded with entry level specs such as a 3.2 inch 320 x 240 resolution screen and a 2MP camera. We might even use the fact that Android 2.1 is installed as a negative until we remembered that the HTC EVO 4G still has the same OS under its hood. Even the 90nm process is behind the curve as elsewhere in Europe and the U.S. 65nm and 45nm is more commonly seen.