The Nigerian telephone market has come a long way. From the era of “Poor people don’t need telephones” to the present “everyone deserves a smart phone” era.

Mobile phones with operating systems like BB OS, iOS, Windows Phone and SYMBIAN were off the range for most low income earners; but along came Android OS and the smart phone market was liberated and became proliferated. Low income and minimum wage earners are now proud owners of low ‘low-budget’ smart phones that work.
Despite this liberation and proliferation, buying a low-budget phone is not easy as it seems, as many potential smart phone buyers find themselves in a dilemma of which smart phones to buy. It is not uncommon to see posts on internet forums (like Nairaland.com) eliciting suggestions from members on which phone to purchase with a particular income range or to help choose between two alternatives.

The purpose of this piece is to highlight some factors to consider when buying a smart phone. These factors are listed below.

1. Your Salary: The first thing to consider when buying a smart phone is your income. If you have only one source of income and your salary isn’t six figures, then please remove your eyes from the top shelves and look at middles shelves, thank you. You shouldn’t save up to buy a smart phone. Look at it objectively, if your salary is N20,000 for example, how much and how long can you save to buy the infinix zero (N20,900) or Innjoo i1s (N14,000). There are better things to save up for than a device that can be damaged at first charge, first touch or first hello. If you can’t buy a smart phone out rightly, then it’s out of your range. In such an situation, it’s time to look at the bottom of the shelf for phones like the MTN Sm@rt phones (N8,000 or N10,000) or you buy a fairly used device.

2. Your Lifestyle: I consider it economic recklessness to carry a smart of N50,000 in your pocket while struggling for a bus of N50 at iyana Ipaja, Lagos or buying an iPhone 6 and charging it with an “I pass my neighbour” electric generating set? If your smart phone doesn’t correlate with you lifestyle, people might be force to ask you; “who died?” when it is stolen, misplaced or damaged beyond repair.

3. Degree of carefulness: The capacitive touch screen of a smart phone is its Achilles. So if you aren’t exactly the careful type, then you’re better off buying a phone with corning glass screen technology and those don’t come cheap. It is not economic to buy a phone that cost 1/3 of the price to fix a damaged screen. Secondly, if you’re prone to losing your phone in buses (sliding out your pocket etc), then be economic about your purchase or invest in a small sling bag to carry your phones in.

4. Your Residential area: Is your residential area safe or is the ‘waylayability’ very high? Carrying a high budget phone in an area prone to mugging isn’t economic. An acquaintance recently got a nice 5.0 display android phone and was “feeling” the phone on his street one evening. The next thing he saw were bright stars and “plenty plenty” shadows running away. When his sight was restored, his phone was gone. That reminds me; please keep your phones out of sight when commuting in commercial buses especially if you’re sitting by the window.

There you have it, the Economics of buying a smart phone in Nigeria. And oh, what smart phone do i use? My baby is a Tecno P5.

Source: The Job Seekers’ Creed™

Oya, add yours and mbok click share

I smell front page

Lemme comment first
.
.
.
.
Okay, M on FP.. Good way to start d week

Rocking iphone 6 and your are always searching for HOW TO GET 2 GB WITH #60 ON AIRTEL on google.
Using BlackBerry passport and if you hear knock 4 ur door you go run hide tell your younger brother say if na ur landlord make he say u don travel.
Buying Phantom Z for your babe with your school fees but you are using tecno n3.

God is whatching all of you

yungchop: I smell front page

It seems like in Nigeria, the higher the cost of the smartphone , the dumber the owner would be.

hahahahahahaha... hilarious piece!! what i do is i carry my small nokia c1 about ,the first impression they get when they see me with an almost dead c1 is -o! broke nigga! so it takes away attention and risks..i only bring out my smartphone in public wen i wanna show off or got important messages to reply

mrvocalprowess: hahahahahahaha... hilarious piece!! what i do is i carry my small nokia c1 about ,the first impression they get when they see me with an almost dead c1 is -o! broke nigga! so it takes away attention and risks..i only bring out my smartphone in public wen i wanna show off or got important messages to reply

Badt guy!

Skykid1208: Rocking iphone 6 and your are always searching for HOW TO GET 2 GB WITH #60 ON AIRTEL on google.
Using BlackBerry passport and if you hear knock 4 ur door you go run hide tell your younger brother say if na ur landlord make he say u don travel.
Buying Phantom Z for your babe with your school fees but you are using tecno n3.

God is whatching all of you

people who do these are pathetic, insecure and have the "i must belong" lifestyle, imagine a guy using a Samsung s4 in my dept and always asking for #20 tfare,who is fooling who?

Skykid1208: Rocking iphone 6 and your are always searching for HOW TO GET 2 GB WITH #60 ON AIRTEL on google.
Using BlackBerry passport and if you hear knock 4 ur door you go run hide tell your younger brother say if na ur landlord make he say u don travel.
Buying Phantom Z for your babe with your school fees but you are using tecno n3.

God is whatching all of you

Hehehehe.

Lesson for the wise....

mrvocalprowess: people who do these are pathetic, insecure and have the "i must belong" lifestyle, imagine a guy using a Samsung s4 in my dept and always asking for #20 tfare,who is fooling who?

Pls ask them for me

ok

I always weep when I see a lady that earns like 20-25k per month using galaxy s4 or other expensive gadgets.

I weep not because of her reckless spending but because of the damage that has been don to her thing.

I weep because they were given to her by a guy that uses Nokia Asha 210, a guy whose mom is using Nokia 1280.

I weep because she is dumber than the phone she is using.

I weep because the phone has changed her attitude toward her offline friends............

Ww

I seriously agree with you. it makes no sense to buy a fon that's more than half ur salary. Mind you, that fon is a liability save it brings you money. Tecno rocks for 9ja.

Abeg,who get iphone 6 browsing cheat

So cos some1 enters a bus,he shouldn't use a hi tech phone?? How much is a car n how much is a phone? Wats d correlate?

It's just sickening the way people scramble for expensive smartphones. I mean,what do you make of someone who can barely eat two-square meals,not to talk three-square meals each day,flaunting an expensive phone? Seriously,of who benefit will that be to him? Will the prestige he get from owning that phone,clear his hunger? I don't gerrit!

Tallesty1:
I weep not because of her reckless spending but because of the damage that has been don to her thing.

Got me laughing!

Preciousone4ril: So cos some1 enters a bus,he shouldn't use a hi tech phone?? How much is a car n how much is a phone? Wats d correlate?

My broda, if yu get N50k fone and still dey enter keke N50 EFCC supos arrest you..
N50k is 1/5 of the cost of a good fairly used car for kakukabu! #IncomeGeneration

nenergy:
My broda, if yu get N50k fone and still dey enter keke N50 EFCC supos arrest you..
N50k is 1/5 of the cost of a good fairly used car for kakukabu! #IncomeGeneration

so everyone who's got 50k shld turn into a taxi driver?

I smell poverty here.

Preciousone4ril: So cos some1 enters a bus,he shouldn't use a hi tech phone?? How much is a car n how much is a phone? Wats d correlate?

no,its not dat ,all we are saying is live according to ur pocket.. y will u be using a phone of 60k and u can't subscribe common 2k? looking for cheat up and down? y will u be using 60k phone and be borrowing money everytime? isn't that a fake life? if u can afford it go for it ,but if u can't buy according to ur worth... shikena

Stop deceiving yourselves. If you have a need for phone please buy it as long as it will satisfy your need for it. Who wrote this don't know the power of a smartphone.

colly227: I smell poverty here.

no bro.. u getting everything mixed,its not poverty, its reality, especially cos a phone is a liability .. Imagine a guy dat don't have 20k in his account but uses Samsung s5,if d phone gets stolen or lost nko?where will he start from?

Ladies are most guilty,aside chatting,and showing off,they know nothing else about the phone. Some don't even know how to browse on it,save for listening to music,and video.

They change phone like skin,and trying to outdo each other in kind of phone they flaunt.

Well., I use an Iphone 6 and a blackberry passport. I am very rich so., this is nothing to me..

Yomieluv: Ladies are most guilty,aside chatting,and showing off,they know nothing else about the phone.

They change phone like skin,and trying to outdo each other in kind of phone they flaunt.

i can understand ladies, a guy will always be there for them,it's a guy that probably even bought it for her...but i don't understand y a guy should do such

colly227: I smell poverty here.

Smart phone is not the brand is the specification. If it doesn't hurt your pocket and does everything a smart phone should, buy it. Its foolshardy, waiting for keke N50 with a N70k phone in your pocket. why not stand on the phone and let it teleport you home

mrvocalprowess: no bro.. u getting everything mixed,its not poverty, its reality, especially cos a phone is a liability .. Imagine a guy dat don't have 20k in his account but uses Samsung s5,if d phone gets stolen or lost nko?where will he start from?

If you think a smartphone can't fetch you good money please think again.

colly227: Stop deceiving yourselves. If you have a need for phone please buy it as long as it will satisfy your need for it. Who wrote this don't know the power of a smartphone.

Tell me want a Tecno P5 can't do aside heavy gaming or being rooted? In a fews years rooting will be history.