The Vergatario is a model of CDMA mobile phone designed by the Venezuelan state owned corporation Vtelca, with assistance from the Chinese manufacturer

ZTE ZTE Corporation is a Chinese partially state-owned technology company that specializes in telecommunication. Founded in 1985, ZTE is listed on both the Hong Kong and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges. ZTE's core business is wireless, exchange, optic ...

. The "Vergatario" name was announced by Venezuelan President

Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republ ...

. Vergatario is not one of rebranded ZTE phones because it is exclusively designed in Venezuela.

Design

The Vergatario is a CDMA phone that includes a 0.3mp VGA 640x480 camera, and a built-in MP3, MP4 media player among its features. Initially, it was highly subsidized by the Venezuelan government, priced at 30

BsF BSF may refer to: Organisations * Ballerup-Skovlunde Fodbold, a Danish football club * British Skin Foundation, a UK charity raising money for skin disease and skin cancer research * Bibliothèques Sans Frontières, an international non profit * ...

(roughly US$6.99), and may be the world's most inexpensive mobile phone."Chavez launches $15 mobile phone with a name to make his mother blush"

guardian.co.uk TheGuardian.com, formerly known as Guardian.co.uk and ''Guardian Unlimited'', is a British news and media website owned by the Guardian Media Group. It contains nearly all of the content of the newspapers ''The Guardian'' and ''The Observer'', ...

, 11 May 2009 The latest version is more expensive, at 2450 BsF, roughly 389 dollars at 2013 rates. "Vergatario" is a Spanish word, a vulgar adjective used in Venezuela meaning ''optimal''.Hugo Chávez defends 'rude' mobile phone
,

, 14 May 2009 Venezuelans had mixed reactions to the name "Vergatario" after the late President Chávez's Mother's Day broadcast. Some said it was "gross" and "vulgar", while others considered it harmless. Chávez named the phone himself. He introduced the Vergatario to Venezuelans on the 10 May 2009 ( Mother's Day in Venezuela) broadcast of his television talk show ''

Aló Presidente ''Aló Presidente'' (English: ''Hello, Mr. President'') was a long-running, unscripted talk show hosted by former Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. It was broadcast on Venezuelan state television and radio channels, including Venezolana de Tele ...

'', during which he used a Vergatario to phone his mother. The Venezuelan state owned corporation Vetelca produces the Vergatario in Venezuela using some parts from the Chinese company

. Production began in 2009. 5,000 Vergatarios went to market on 9 May in anticipation of Mother's Day sales."Cinco mil celulares nacionales a la venta"
El Universal , 7 May 2009. Original Spanish quote: "Ha sido una solicitud del Presidente que todo el mundo tenga la oportunidad de tener en sus manos un Vergatario." 600,000 phones will be produced by the end of 2009, and production will increase during the following two years with 2,000,000 phones planned by the end of 2011. Chávez expressed his desire that "everyone get the opportunity to get their hands on a Vergatario".

Movilnet CANTV () is the state-run telephone and internet service provider in Venezuela. It was one of the first telephone service enterprises in the country, founded in 1930. The largest telecommunications provider in Venezuela, it was privatized in 19 ...

, Venezuela's

state-owned State ownership, also called government ownership and public ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, or enterprise by the state or a public body representing a community, as opposed to an individual or private party. Public ownersh ...

wireless network, is the carrier for the Vergatario.

References

{{ZTE Communications in Venezuela ZTE mobile phones Venezuelan brands