Trump family announces mobile service, US$499 gold smartphone
Trump Mobile is latest deal brokered by the US president’s children to capitalise on his surname while he is in office
Donald Trump’s family business licensed its name to launch a US mobile service and a US$499 smartphone on Monday, calling it Trump Mobile, in the latest deal brokered by the president’s children to capitalise on his last name while he is in office.
The new mobile venture, announced at Trump Tower in Manhattan, will operate using the networks of the three major US wireless carriers. Some key details about the venture, including those about the family’s partner in the business and financial terms of their licensing deal, were not immediately disclosed.
“We are going to be introducing an entire package of products where people can come and they can get telemedicine on their phones for one flat monthly fee, roadside assistance on their cars, unlimited texting to 100 countries around the world,” said the president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jnr.
The announcement also promoted the launch of a “sleek, gold smartphone” that will be “designed and built in the United States.”
It was not known which US-based company could deliver a phone at US$499, a feat that has eluded the world’s largest phone makers, including Apple. Despite the strength of US-based tech brands, there is no significant domestic smartphone production infrastructure, largely due to high labour costs, supply chain complexity, and reliance on overseas component sourcing.
The president has said he put his business interests in a trust managed by his children to avoid conflicts of interest, but income from such business ventures will eventually enrich the president, who sits atop the series of Trump family firms.