More Pinoys now prefer local smartphones

CEBU, Philippines - More and more Filipinos are now embracing locally-branded smartphones as features of the products can now closely compete with the high-end gadgets in the market.

Jun Yap, president and chief executive officer of Junrex Cellphones and Accessories, noted that sales for locally-branded gadgets like myPhone, StarMobile, CherryMobile, HappyPhone have moved up significantly, as these local phones and gadgets are becoming sophisticated that could complete with the high-end names.

While features of cheaply-priced gadgets are similar than that of expensive brands, Yap said Filipino consumers are now becoming more practical.     

Yap said demand for tablets and smartphones have since been growing due to affordability of the products.

Smartphone prices are pegged from P3,000 to P40,000.

StarMobile, a new local manufacturer of Android phones and tablets estimates that some 5.6 million smartphones with a total value of P57 billion will be sold this year. Last year, there were about 4.6 million smartphones sold valued at P41 billion.

The firm said in a press statement that Metro Cebu remains "strongest in the Visayas", with "consistently high demand" in the market for quality yet affordable mobile devices.

Tablet penetration in the Philippines, on the other hand, increased from six percent in 2012 to 14 percent in 2013, according first quarter 2013 research conducted by Ericsson ConsumerLab in Southeast Asia & Oceania.

“There is a clear change in mobile data usage. Users now prefer instant messaging, social networking and video streaming,” said Afrizal Abdul Rahim, regional head for Ericsson ConsumerLab South East Asia & Oceania, in an earlier report.

Although, these locally-branded gadgets are mostly made in China, existing users observed reliable quality, with phone features closely comparable to well-known high-end brands. (FREEMAN)