Should we go for cheaper mobiles of unknown brands?

India is witnessing an exceptional growth in the telecommunications sector guided by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). It is estimated at $10-billion at present. This boom is led by an increase in wireless service providers and the consequent mushrooming of handset providers. There seems to be a race among mobile phone companies to reach a large base of customers by providing maximum functionalities at a low cost. But, do we have to observe a note of caution against a few companies? Let’s find out.

According to a report, India’s mobile handset market touched 100.9 million units in the year ended June 2009. This makes India the third largest mobile handset market, after China and the U.S. In the capital city alone, the number of mobile phone connections (2.83 crore) are more than the people (1.82 crore) as per the data published in the Delhi Statistical Handbook released by the Delhi government’s Department of Economics and Statistics on October 20, 2010, and almost 17,000 new mobile subscribers add to the network every day! The market is getting crowded, in the lower and mid-market segments. There seems to be a price war especially in the lower end of the market with as many as 27 new handset vendors pouring their products in India. As per IDC Q2 2010 report, these emerging vendors have captured more than 30% of the market!

There have been concerns about the growing radiation effects through cell phone towers and the excessive usage of mobile phones particularly by youths. Keeping at least one cell phone has become a necessity. The big, established brands like Nokia, Samsung, Sony, etc., have strong R&Ds and implement thorough quality tests for their handsets. This has led to a vast improvement in the overall design of cell phones that are more user-friendly and does not get heat up early. The new manufacturers cannot afford R&Ds at their scale and they are here to make profit by selling cheap. There are several examples of cell phone providers whose names are not even heard.

My questions to all readers of this article are:-

• Are we putting our life at risk by giving in to the temptation of purchasing feature-rich, low cost handsets of unknown and unheard brands?
• Can these new vendors turn out to be fly-by-night operators?
• Should we only go for well-known, trusted brands even if their mobile phones are not cheap as compared to pocket-friendly cell phones by new companies?

Pour all your thoughts on this platform because as I always say:-

“ Its Your Life, Its Only ONE Life,

Its TIME to ACT, Its TIME to take ACTION,

Because it is WANTED!!”