• by Colin Kirkland , Yesterday

According to the Trump Ventures website, Donald Trump’s family business is licensing the president’s name to a mobile phone service that later this year will release a series of gold smartphones with a $47-per-month cost. 

The announcement -- made by Trump’s eldest sons -- states that Trump Mobile will offer 5G service through AT&T, Verizon and T Mobile, with unlimited talk, text and data, device protection, roadside assistance, telehealth services, free international calls and more. 

Notably, the Trump family says the gold-colored smartphones will cost $499 and will be American made, giving consumers an alternative to mobile devices made internationally by Apple and Samsung. By putting down a $100 downpayment, consumers can reserve their phone now before its planned September launch. 

The phone is designed to run on the Android operating system, and will be unlockable via a fingerprint sensor.

The service will be owned and operated by a separate business called “T1 Mobile,” which will license the Trump brand. 

In its description, Trump Mobile resembles other MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) mobile companies, like Mint Mobile and an upcoming brand owned by the SmartLess podcast hosts.

Its potential, however, has already been doubted by experts. 

For example, David Pierce wrote in The Verge that the venture “seems utterly unfathomable.” 

Pierce “absolutely” doubts that the phone will be “designed and built in the USA,” citing the likelihood that the smartphone prototype shared on Monday “appears to be nearly 100 percent Photoshopped,” with specs “that don’t make a lot of sense together,” including the lack of information regarding a processor. 

Whereas a senior analyst at telecom research firm Counterpoint told The Washington Post that mass-producing a modern smartphone in the U.S. is “not possible” due to the development of tech components being based almost entirely overseas. 

Despite a history of failed “Trump” businesses,  the president has made hundreds of millions of dollars on his family’s ventures, reporting over $600 million in income and $1.6 billion in assets on Friday.