Cherry Mobile: When does 2 become 1?

MANILA, Philippines - Two phones-in-one has been the come-on of Cherry Mobile. The plan was a good one since Pinoy cellphone users will try out any kind of cellphone, at least once. The price of the Cherry Mobile cellphones range from P999 to P7,000.

Today, there are even stand-alone Cherry Mobile kiosks which cater to people who want to go dual. But the numbers of these folks are dwindling. Many Pinoys like the concept of owning two cellphones in one — but the cost of keeping such a unit is not practical. Studies of telecom companies have shown that Pinoys load an average of P20 every other day. With a dual SIM cellphone, the cost of maintaining the unit only doubles.

Cherry Mobile is unfazed by these criticisms. The company continues to introduce new dual Sim models in the market. However, the latest model introduced by Cherry Mobile is the P999 unit and it’s not a dual SIM. The uber small cellphone slightly bigger than a cigarette case has been a hit among first-time cellphone users. The problem though is that the cellphone is quite flimsy.

The Cherry Mobile’s range of cellphones has been designed to meet Pinoy users’ needs. For P2,990 one can get the Cherry Mobile D20 Life. The cellphone comes with a 2GB micro SD card, a camera and is Bluetooth-capable. It is a dual SIM. Another choice is the Cherry Mobile D50 Inertia which comes with a 1.3 megapixel camera, has a sporty design and is Bluetooth-capable. The unit costs P3,700.

The relatively reasonably priced phones have caught on with some buyers. And, it does not matter what SIM card one I using at the time. The dual SIM car seems to have worked against Cherry Mobile because there is only a certain niche of users who see the value of going dual.

The country is divided into places where the signal of one cellphone provider is better than the other. People who come from the different provinces know which cellphone company has the better signal and they stick to that cellphone company. Pinoys are known to stick with the brands they trust, the brands that offer reliable services and spare parts.

There are only a few trusted brands when it comes to cellphones in the country, Nokia and Sony Ericsson being among the most coveted. These brands have established their reliability in the market and Pinoys, who are always on the lookout for the latest cellphones, according to how much they can afford, look to these brands for their good resale value and because of their well-known quality.