adminThe influx of various imported cellphone brands in recent years coupled with the availability of simcards at affordable prices has seen the national mobile penetration rate rising to 80 percent.
However, the boom in cellphone business has precipitated the proliferation of fake phones in the local market.
A good number of people have been duped into buying these gadgets as they cannot distinguish the difference between a fake cellphone and an original one.
In addition, the fake phones are much more affordable that the originals and they also feature some extras, which makes them attractive to the buyer.
The increase in cellphone use has also resulted in a boom in cellphone repair technicians.
Just like any other mechanical gadget, cellphones will at one point develop faults.
Cellphone problems can be as a result of human negligence while others are due to normal wear and tear.
Cellphone owners normally make the mistake of dropping their cellphones on hard surfaces or into liquids, which normally shatters them and the only remedy is to visit cellphone technicians or to throw it away and replace it with a new one.
In this instalment I will focus on issues that affect our decision to repair a defective phone or replace it.
Under the current environment where there is an influx of shops selling cellphone it makes economic sense to replace a faulty cellphone than to have it repaired.
However, this depends on the type of cellphone one has. If it is one of those expensive types then one might opt to have it repaired, that is if the cost is lower than the asking price of a new phone.
In addition, while it is relatively cheaper to replace as opposed to repairing cellphones, most people are forced by circumstances to go for the repair option despite it being costly at times.
Most people keep very important documents or contacts in their phone’s internal memory storage.
Unfortunately, when their phone malfunctions they lose all that information. This can range from memorable family photos, short video clips or shots from that wedding, birthday party, graduation or funeral.
In such instances one will have no choice but to have the phone repaired at all costs.
Contact numbers and messages seem inseparable with all mobile devices, so if we lose these we are virtually paralysed.
No one really bothers to have a back-up somewhere and, honestly, keeping a physical diary with contacts seems to be an out dated culture nowadays.
Nevertheless, the importance of taking care of your phone and backing up your information cannot be over-emphasised.
It is also very important to note that some phone problems are not repairable. Some of the parts can either be fried on board making the repairs impossible.
Phone technician Ellington Tarenyika Muzadzi said some people are influenced into selling their phones the moment it starts to show signs of problems.
“In this regard they avoid repairs by just passing the problem on to the next buyer,” he said.
So the decision on whether to repair or replace a faulty cellphone rests on how important that particular cellphone is to you.
The writer is a computing specialist with TechnoMag. More on our new website http://technomag.co.zw or join us on Facebook page http://facebook.com/technomagzw LIKE our page for FREE airtime giveaways, Twitter @technomagzw. Email: [email protected] [email protected]
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