Hand phones are no longer used just for talking.

IT’S not about talking any more. For many mobile phone users, especially younger ones, what they call their “handphone” can be anything from a games console to a camera, a music player or an internet portal. And for many, the phone is a fashion accessory.

Ko Sithu, a manager at Lu Gyi Min sales centre, says about 80 percent of mobile phone users are more interested in the entertainment value of their machine than its communication potential. And some people, mostly young women, even change their phone cover to match their outfit.

“High quality, multi-function hand phones started entering the market earlier this year. Most people buy multifunction hand phones with a camera. The models are of medium price range. The demand is for hand phones that have multi-function access for entertainment purposes,” said Ko Sithu.

The most-used functions are photographing, voice recording, shooting video, playing games and listening to music, and phones that have internet access are also popular.

An owner of a handset shop explained that only the over-40s tend to choose hand phones they can actually use for business purposes, rather than entertainment.

“Game-playing and listening to music may not interest the older customer. But even they would use their phone for shooting video and taking photographs,” explained the hand phone shop owner.

Ko Sithu said the under-30 market buys mobile phones not only for communication purposes, but to show off their possession and flaunt it as a status symbol.

After a sales boom in mid-2008, phone sales are now steady, he said, though models introduced since late 2008 have more functions than earlier phones. Others in the trade say prices have not risen much despite the advances in technology.

For many young people, the mobile phone is not just a source of entertainment, but also a companion. Nokia user Ma Wah Wah, an 18-year-old student from Bahan township, described the merits of owning a handphone.

“People don’t need to be bored any more. You can listen to music, play games and send messages to friends and practise English at the same time. Then you can call another friend for a chat. There is not a moment to become bored,” Ma Wah Wah happily explained.

Movie starlet Thinza Wint Kyaw said that it didn’t matter what phone she used so long as it served her business purposes.

“At present, I’m using a Sony Ericsson. It’s convenient because I use it for work only. When I’m free or bored, I listen to music. Those are the only things I use it for.”

Repair technician Ko Kyaw Zin thought that advances in phone technology could lead to the creation of different classes of people. “In future, iPhone and Windows [operating system] will become more widely used. Nokia will be used by middle-aged people and iPhone will be mainly used by the upper class,” he said.

At present, inexpensive Chinese handsets with limited functions are entering the market in large quantities, but as there are almost no spare parts for repairs, there are few buyers, Ko Kyaw Zin said.

Handset accessories are still not widely used and new models do not vary much, according to Ko Kyaw Zin.

Staff at phone service shops in Yangon agreed that due to technological advances on the entertainment side, games seemed to be the biggest draw for younger mobile phone customers.

“Whenever new mobile games come onto the market, phone owners come to record them into their phones. Some late-model phones have games already installed. But if the games they like are not included they come to the shops to get them, and most of them are young,” a spokesperson from one phone service shop said.