Nowadays, buying premium phones is not anymore as heavy in the budget as investing in designer bags or cars.
In the past few years, the mobile phone industry has witnessed an interesting trend: The gap between the quality of expensive and the least expensive has dramatically decreased, where the low-cost brands have been creeping closer to high-end performance, while on the other hand, year-on-year improvements to premium handsets have been marginal.
Filipinos, known as UAE’s top gadget spenders, however might not be not as open-minded just yet when it comes to purchasing budget-friendly phones.
But according to motivational speaker and millionaire, Bo Sanchez, buying expensive gadgets are one of the factors that hinders Pinoys from saving enough.
“I don’t need an iPhone. I am okay with MyPhone,” he said, referring to a Philippine mobile phone brand.
Sanchez said the reason why Pinoys are not able to save enough is because they buy goods that are depreciating in value such as gadgets. However, he is quick to point out that there is nothing wrong with it.
It’s just that it all boils down to determining the reasons why you are buying a specific model. What specific features you need, what brand and what budget you have, he said..
While others see mobile phones as important only a a means of communication, majority also use them for games, as a digital camera, and MP3 or audio player.
“We have specific mobile phones catered to all kinds of people and their daily needs. We don’t bombard them with features that they won’t use,” Kashif Siddiqui, Wiko Head of Sales UAE.
“We believe in maintaining the right balance in the pricing and product mix to avoid major fluctuations in pricing during the product’s life cycle, thus giving stability to both retailers and consumers,” Siddiqui said.
Wiko is a French mobile phone that sells handsets from as low as Dh 270. They also sell premium smart phones which costs Dh 800 and up.
Gone are the days when budget phones used to be bland, plastic devices with limited specs and crappy cameras.
Chinese brand, Huawei, is a testament to this. Their new Huawei honor 6x for Dh 919 comes with a stylish design and a silky smooth metal body with a powerful processor and solid camera.
