By Charles Mgbolu
In a surprising new wave, the popular refurbished phones commonly known as China phones notable for it’s ‘No Name’ feature and sometimes small Chinese inscriptions on weak metallic casings bearing a thousand and one key buttons – its perfect giveaway, has now metamorphosed.

After years of steady progression in cloning, these sometimes very disappointing phones now bear the branded names of the popular phone brands you once knew and if not careful could be purchased as the brand new one.

According to  investigations carried out by vanguard CyberLIFE at the computer village Otigba market over the weekend, it was discovered that these substandard phones in their new faces and names are complete identicals to the original brands. Some even have similarly cloned accessories to match and now major ICT  markets in the country are full of them.

External features of these phones bare the original models’ logo and also come in same colours. A much closer examination by this reporter revealed that the weight of these phones  which had been another dead giveaway in the past had also been adjusted and balanced up to level with that of the original model. It’s internal features had also been reworked to contain all the setups of the original phone.

One major feature that hasn’t changed however with the refurbished phone is the prize. These makeover phones are still sold at a staggeringly lower cost compared to what the original models are being sold for. This has been the singular feature that has endeared the refurbished phone trade to the market. Already, experts in consumer behavior have noted that customers will still go for products of significantly lower cost even when they know it is of substandard value. Ultimately, making the job of pushing China phones out of the market very difficult.

Some phone sellers who had called to this reporter claimed that the new improved phones had been refurbished to be in much more better working order than the brand new version. Vanguard CyberLIFE’s investigations however observed that there were slight cosmetic flaws in the graphic settings of these phones. The number letterings in the phones had looked slightly awkward.

A refurbished mobile phone is one that has been returned to the factory from a cell phone company and rebuilt, usually to new specifications. Sometimes, a favorite model will no longer be manufactured new, but a customer can get a refurbished one.

A refurbished mobile phone should, in all respects, work exactly as a new phone. This is probably more likely to be the case when the refurbished mobile phone does not have many complex features, such as a camera. A study has shown that cell phone customers routinely upgrade their mobile phones every couple of years or so, and the old ones have to go somewhere. Some are discarded, if they are no longer compatible with the cellular system, but many are sent back to the factory to be refurbished. This is also the case for phones that malfunction.

Whether if buying a refurbished mobile phone is a good idea depends greatly on the manufacturer. Reputable makers usually produce a good product, but this may not be the case with “off” brands. i.e a phone that has been returned for refurbishing as a result of a malfunction. Unfortunately, this is usually the case with most refurbished phones on sale in the country’s ICT market. The malfunction problem that had caused the phone to be refurbished in the first place always reoccur and thus the cliche that china phones are never durable.

Even though the buying of refurbished phones is common world over, experts have said that since it is never clear what the exact origin or condition of a refurbished phone is, it is impossible for the consumer to know the reason why the phone has been refurbished in the first place. At this point, they advise that consumers disregard any “supposed” knowledge the salesman tries to impart on this aspect of the product, because he/she has no inside knowledge on this issue either and pray to God they just pick a good one.