YEAR ENDER: 2022 was the year of ‘BUY ME A PHONE’

Today, the issue of the best handset tops everything else. You can find an unemployed person carrying an iPhone 13 or 14 and having no food or transport.

COMMENT | ISAAC TEKO | Ever since the smart phone became a household item about a dozen years ago, I have bought over 50 gadgets for people. Whenever I travel to Dubai especially, I always get about five to 10 requests for smartphones.

When my kids got to the ‘smartphone age’ – which these days is just 10 years – I had to buy them gadgets. Interestingly, when they became discerning ( knowing quality ), they ALL insisted on the iPhone as a preferred brand. I found that if I bought for one, I had to buy for the rest.

When I had bought all of them iPhones, I discovered that the unsaid practice is to upgrade almost each year with the latest version which in 2022 was iPhone 14 (sh6-7m) and even within that version, there are sub versions and variations which create a cost escalation problem.

So I decided, that I will ONLY change the version on a needs basis – that is after a serious case for it is presented.

I soon found out that is not always as straightforward as I wish, because when I travelled to Dubai with my eldest, she convinced me to upgrade her handset!.

She traded in the older version, almost at less than half the original purchase cost and topped up (I topped up) and bought her a higher version (which now is no longer in vogue) …and the story doesn’t end.

So in 2023 I have to upgrade the others as and when my wallet will permit and then give out the older versions to other people. So my 2022 has been marked by the fad of phone upgrades.

In 2022 I received in excess of 35 requests for phones and I managed to buy or pass on about 15, meaning in 2023 I have to buy for about 20 peope smartphones, eight of whom specifically want iPhone.

Today, the issue of the best handset tops everything else. You can find an unemployed person carrying an iPhone 13 or 14 and having no food or transport.

When I ask those who ask me for iPhone what the thing is, they say “the pictures are great”, “the videos are tick” etc but not one of them realises that  that good pic or video costs an extra sh2m over a top Samsung android handset.

So I start 2023 with the phone puzzle. Happy New Year!