“I’ll sell you garbage, and you‘ll pay me dearly.” ~ Sarcastically yours, China.

Do you own a cheap smartphone? Let me show you how that is waste of money.
Note: Keep the title in mind, because I have no talent to match it with the content in this post. Read, digest your self!
First, I have no definition for “cheap smartphone”. I will assume that if you can just buy it without risking to run out of budget or at least squeeze it, it’s cheap.
I know some people can afford expensive gadgets without risking to run out of budget. That breed is not in question here. I’m talking about many like me, who cannot easily buy a new iPhone or Edge without squeezing their budget.
Why do we need a smartphone? Most people do because they need constant Internet, photos, videos, music, games and any app they wish to have while still being able to communicate with friends, family members and co-workers. Let me call those reasons, “those needs”.
For people like us, it would be great to buy an iPhone or a great smartphone, but it’s only a wish. We instead like to tell ourselves that “those needs” could be satisfied by an affordable phone, and that there are plenty of options.
When the chosen phone gets to us, hell it doesn’t even work on a 3G network. Advertised as a 4GB phone, I thought it should be enough for at least WhatsApp and Instagram.
To my surprise, it came with 2.9GB system-protected apps. I could only install apps of my choice on the 1.1GB available space.
WhatsApp requires more than 200MB to install. It forces me to store photos, videos and all from my friends and groups on that 1.1GB available space (not SD card). Instagram also requires me more than 50MB. I’ve got a warning about low space already.
I had to remove Twitter to install Opera browser. I had to remove Facebook to install Snapchat. I forgot I craved playing a game on my phone. The camera gives me dark photos, doesn’t work at night and the keyboard depresses me when I try to quickly reply to messages. Arghh!
This may sound new to some, but not me.
2 years ago, I bought a Huawei Y330-U11 (4GB) at $80. Of the 4GB, 2.9GB were system-protected apps.
This year, I bought a Samsung Galaxy J5 (8GB) at around $200. Of the 8GB, only 2.9GB was available for my needs.
System protected apps included dozens of Google, Samsung and Microsoft apps that I never used for the last 7 years since I started using smartphones. Those apps include Google News, Earth, Hangout, and many more that I’m forced to give my space, not by choice.
Do you remember why you bought a smartphone?
Did you get to a point where you don’t want to type? Do you feel reluctant to take pictures in your cousin’s wedding? How many of “those needs” are you really able to satisfy?
I personally got to a point where I didn’t install WhatsApp, Instagram, Skype.. no, the list is long; I meant to say I got to a point where I used the cheap smartphone as a feature phone. Could I have bought a feature phone instead? I think so. It could have been cheaper and the battery power would last long.
Some of the crucial things we need for a mobile phone still use mobile short codes anyways. You dial *130# to load airtime and be able to buy Internet bundles. Most banks can be accessed using the mobile money short code, *182#. In Rwanda, we can even access e-governance services using a mobile short code *909#. Why would I spend more on crap? Curiosity maybe.
Is there anything our friends from China and Asia doing to solve this issue? What are they losing? What is threatening them?
Is there anything our regulators can do about it? Individually, NO. Collectively, Maybe.
I hate to admit that I’m not the right person to talk about this regulation matters, but as a consumer, I think I can do something. I can recognize that a feature phone is sometimes a better option, and stop the madness of buying cheap smartphones. One day I’ll afford a smartphone.
Oh, take this one further note:
Did you know that cheap smartphones don’t affect their owners alone?
If you can know that smartphone is a playground for innovation, then you should realize that cheap smartphones kill the numbers and slow down innovation.
When statistics show the number of smartphone penetration as an emerging market, they include smartphones that can’t technically be leveraged. Businesses fail to meet forecasts due to unexpected poor engagement of customers, people lose jobs and so on.
In my opinion, we should embrace the value and see smartphones as things to buy when they can really satisfy our needs.
Cheap is expensive, go for the value.
