Sunday, 28 September 2014

Naija Smartphonomics: The Economics Of Buying A Smart Phone In Nigeria



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.