Yesterday, (Christmas Day, and, yes, all the shops are open in Bangkok, Thailand), I went shopping for a new cell phone. I normally buy my cell phones at MBK, the huge and very cheap shopping mall next to National Stadium in Bangkok, as it has well over 100 cell phone stalls and shops. With that kind of choice, it’s easy to find the cell phone you want. All I wanted was the cheapest new phone I could find, which usually narrows it down to a cheap Nokia or a cheap Samsung mobile phone, as they tend to be good quality for an inexpensive price.
Nokia has been my phone of choice in the past and I’ve never had a problem with one. In fact, my last one cost me 700 baht ($23) and has lasted me for three years. So, yesterday, I went to MBK with the intention of buying a cheap Nokia cell phone. Imagine my surprise to discover, after checking at least 20 stalls, that all Nokia cell phones are now more expensive than a similar Samsung. Quite a bit more expensive in fact.
For the basic Samsung model, the Samsung Hero GT-E1200T, most stalls were selling them for 590 baht ($19.45). The cheapest Nokia phone I could find, however, was 899 baht ($29.96), more than $10 more expensive for an absolutely basic phone. As my Thai friend said, no wonder the number of cell phones Nokia is selling are falling in number every month. Their phones don’t look as nice as the basic Samsung, they have the same functions and yet they’re a third more expensive.
Needless to say, I bought the Samsung Hero GT-E1200T for less than 20 bucks.
Sure, it’s a basic phone. It doesn’t have a camera (I already have a good camera, so I don’t need one), and its functions are extremely minimal, but for taking and making phone calls and sending text messages, you can’t do much better for the price. The signal is strong, the reception is clear, the display is very easy to read and the Samsung even has a ‘Torch Light’, so you can use it as a flashlight (we British call it a ‘torch’) in a darkened area.
For less than 20 bucks, it’s a pretty nice phone.
As for Nokia,there’s no surprise their sales are falling. After all, I even went specifically to buy a Nokia cell phone and ended up with a Samsung simply due to the affordable price.
Special Note – The video below shows a quick ‘unboxing’ of the Samsung E1200-T and goes through all the features. And, yes, the reviewer likes it as well.
