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Best Buy purchases Verizon MVNO Great Call for $800 million

By Alan Friedman

Published: Aug 15, 2018, 6:22 PM

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If your father, mother, grandfather or grandmother are not of the smartphone generation, chances are that they are rockin' a Jitterbug phone. The flip phones with big buttons, loud speakers and brightly colored displays have been sold by Verizon MVNO Great Call for over ten years. Today, Best Buy said that it is buying Great Call for $800 million. The MVNO says that it currently has 900,000 subscribers.

Best Buy has also been selling the Jitterbug flip phone, and the Jitterbug Smart. The latter is a smartphone with large text on a 5.5-inch display, powered by the Snapdragon 210 SoC. Great Call also offers quick one click access to health and urgent care services on its phones and wearable devices.

"The acquisition is a manifestation of the Best Buy 2020 strategy to enrich lives through technology by addressing key human needs. It is specifically focused on addressing the growing needs of the aging population with the help of technology products, services and solutions."-Best Buy

Great Call was Best Buy's first retail partner and this transaction is the largest in Best Buy's history. Great Call is profitable, and will operate separately of Best Buy. CEO David Inns will keep his position, and corporate headquarters will remain in San Diego.

Regulatory approval is required, and the deal is expected to close by the end of Best Buy's fiscal 2019 third quarter in October of next year.

source: BestBuy

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Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.

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