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High-tech trickery
The worst misperception is that a customer believes that these sets are exact copy of original mobile phones
By Waris Ali
Everybody knows that there are China-made cellphone sets rampantly available in the market and also that they are very low-priced, attractive in appearance and offer some exclusive features too.
But very few customers know what is in the bottom hidden from even some high-tech conscious people. A China-made mobile phone set is an incomplete gadget, especially in terms of its software.
Some vendors often claim that the low-priced China mobile phone sets below Rs 4000 are not reliable, but those of higher prices are credible. Quite wrong! All China mobile phone sets are unreliable, in one way or another.
For example, a Chinese company CAT copied the Nokia N96 slider giving it a new name N96i, with certain variations, top among them is a touch screen smart cellphone set, not a slider.
A friend Sheraz, who bought this China set in February this year for Rs 5800, explained to The News on Sunday that the cellphone set attracts everybody because of its luxuriant look, but has an incomplete software. For example, it has the option of shortcuts, but they do not work. The speaker icon displayed on the home screen for alarm settings has been used for shortcuts in the main menu.
Sheraz said the phone display and animations are also low-graded; when a change is done, animation of a vase is displayed in which two leaves sprout. Further, when an audio file is played, there is the image of a man in black three-piece suit who continues dancing, the most ridiculous feature of the touch screen mobile cellphone.
"Its hardware is also substandard. Its processor is very slow," he further complains, explaining that changes in settings, deleting and saving etc are very slow. Hence the image taking, saving, browsing, video recording and playing are ridiculously slow. 'The manual given beside the cellphone set is also incomplete; it explains only half of the functions of the set, a clear indication that the functions which have not been explained do not work."
The worst misperception: The general impression a customer receives from the China-mobile phone sellers is that these sets are an exact copy of the original mobile, which is absolutely wrong. Certain features expose a China-made cellphone set at the very first glimpse, but the customer fails to detect this element.
A week ago, a cousin of mine, Zaigham, dared to visit Arif Center, Hall Road, to buy a Chinese cellphone set. It was a copy of Nokia N97 which lured his attention. Oh! What a marvelous improvement has been made in the graphics; pop-up menus, full functional touch screen apparently much similar to the original set. The vendor was selling just for Rs 6500, the copy of an original N97 whose price is more than Rs 95,000.
What is this? Such hard keypad, weak sliding lever and very poor resolution and graphics visibility, and some key features of the original set are also absolutely absent. "A shame to call it a copy of N97," said Zaigham. In fact, my cousin could detect its flaws because he had used the original N97. Can other customers find out the truth? No, never.
Why is their market still booming? The question remains to be answered. "Why the market of Chinese cellphone sets still attracts so many customers?" The top factor is their low prices, followed by the factor that these sets are always a step ahead in technology. Chinese sets offered dual SIM phenomenon when it was just a dream, then touch screen sets when they were a status symbol and now its TV feature, found in no other cellphone set in the market.
The Chinese cellphone sets hit the market some five years back, more because of their luxurious looks and low prices, and have since then established their goodwill.
"Certain young people who wish a touch screen mobile, a 240x320 screen or a dual-SIM set, opt for a China mobile phone set, which is at least four times cheaper than an original set," an Arif Center vendor explained.
"Whatever the position, China-mobiles are a hot market item.
They have no resale value but bring us good profit," he replied when asked why their market is still flourishing.
Another vendor confided in The News on Sunday that he switched over to the China mobile phones business because a Chinese set easily sells at three times more than what it costs the vendor. All Chinese sets are low-graded, unreliable and not worth a warranty, he bluntly said.
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