Going into the field is one of the things I really enjoy. This week I’m in India and apart from enjoying the food I’m generally on the lookout for the loud music playing phones from China. India is both noisy and an environment where the music is almost incessant. Your phone’s capability to play music is being used everywhere. I’m frequently seeing groups of young guys listening to a phone playing through its speakers. The music is most likely MP3’s although could just as easily be via the FM radio. The music is “blasted” just like “boom boxes” were once used.

This is the “China Phone” (not made by china phone just called a china phone) it’s not a Sony despite the “Walkman” brand name. You can see it has bluetooth and and antenna that can be pulled out for the radio. It also boasts a 1.3mpx camera. The young lad that had it was playing his Hindi music at a volume that far exceeded what I could play on my Nokia N95.

He was very dismissive of the Nokia sound and smirked proudly that his was better than mine. Despite the fact that he bought it for 4200 rupees (Just over $100). He said that “China Phones” come with up to six speakers. His primary reason for buying was the sound quality. He loaded the MP3’s from a computer shop.

While I didn’t get the opportunity to really inspect it I’ll be looking for these more carefully from now on. This example just illustrates how competitive and fast moving the market is here. While Nokia still has a commanding share a new phone twist (big speakers and antenna) has got kids buzzing. For this user it was a smart and cost effective choice. I cannot vouch for the after service care although my bet is the reseller he bought it from will do his best. Spare parts are likely scarce for these phones, by contast you can get any Nokia fixed almost anywhere.