Tired of consumerism? Did your phone fall from your hand and break? The new version has an extra camera, and it’s wiser to sell the previous model and buy a new one? Perhaps the sim-card operator offers an almost free phone for a 1 or 2-year subscription to their sim-card, at the same price as if you don’t get that phone.
Do you feel chronic pain too?
Back in the early years of this century when mobile phones were booming in the markets worldwide, you could find many brands such as Nokia, Sony, BlackBerry, Siemens, Motorola, and many more, which almost disappeared. Samsung is the only one still being used by people. There are new brands such as Fairphone, which claims to cater to the new demands of people seeking durability and repairability since the new touch-screen versions can break with only a simple fall or require a technician to change the old battery. Since the touch-screen version dominated the world, most of the other brands disappeared. The operating systems are just Android and iOS for almost all smartphones.
There are some new phones too, such as Google or Huawei, to prevent Apple from conquering the market. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be any affordable smartphones for people with lower income than the price of a new iPhone.
The iPhone revolutionized the phone industry with its operating system and mobile applications. But they are expensive, not durable, not repairable, and they are not progressing much after Steve Jobs. They even became more fragile, less safe, and lacked innovation. The last invention of Steve Jobs was the right-click possibility of iOS, where users can press and hold an application for faster operation. Since then, we only saw different dimensions of the iPhone and extra cameras.
But also, the European brands disappeared, which means fewer jobs, less cash flow within the local economy, and perhaps that’s why they are less ethical too.
However, such experiences show an opportunity for the return of local brands. The market is ready to support such products now.
This can be a great idea for young and ambitious entrepreneurs. Are you interested in starting up the next Apple? Make them in Europe.
- By Sam
