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Trump Mobile said on Wednesday it has begun shipping its long-delayed $499 T1 smartphones to customers, several months after the gold-colored device was originally slated for release in August.
The mobile venture, launched in June last year by the Trump Organization under a trademark licensing arrangement, had pushed back the T1 phone's release first to October and later to this week, amid questions over the feasibility of manufacturing a low-cost smartphone in the United States.
"Phones that were pre-ordered are starting to be delivered to customers this week," Trump Mobile CEO Pat O'Brien said in a statement to Reuters. He said the launch was delayed as the company worked through multiple stages of development and testing to ensure the phone's components met quality standards.
The gold-colored T1 Phone features a 6.78-inch display, a Qualcomm (QCOM.O) Snapdragon processor, triple-camera system and a 5,000 mAh battery, running on Android.
The company did not disclose how many phones had been pre-ordered or shipped, citing competitive reasons, but said it expected outstanding orders to be fulfilled within the next several weeks. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump Mobile entered the crowded U.S. wireless market as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), offering services through existing carrier infrastructure at a monthly price of $47.45, a reference to Donald Trump serving as the 45th and 47th U.S. President.
The launch has drawn scrutiny from ethics experts and lawmakers because the venture uses the Trump name while the president remains in office. Democrats questioned T-Mobile (TMUS.O) about its relationship with the Trump-branded service and raised concerns over potential conflicts of interest.
Industry analysts have also questioned Trump Mobile's claims around domestic manufacturing. The company initially promoted the T1 as a phone that would be "designed and built in the United States," despite the lack of significant U.S.-based smartphone manufacturing infrastructure.
O'Brien said the first T1 devices are "assembled in the U.S." and that the company ultimately aims to release a phone with most components made domestically.
