Hey good looking, what’s your number? Myanmar’s mobile phone users are paying increasing attention to the latest handsets on the market as they seek a bit of electronic “bling” to enhance their look.

THE swagger or strut of Myanmar’s telecom trendsetters may not be essential to accommodating the dazzling handset holstered at the hip, but there’s a pretty good chance that piece of mobile wizardry is putting some extra spring in their step.

Folding, sliding, buzzing, beeping and singing, today’s cellphones are about much more than simple communication. Well, more than about communicating with whoever’s on the other end of the line anyway.

Led by Yangon’s moneyed class and carried by a new generation of tech-friendly fashion followers, the trend towards flashy phones is helping define what it means to belong to the “in” crowd.

Although across the developing world it is the no-frills phone that has dominated sales – and a thriving used handset market shows Myanmar is not short of budget-conscious consumers – in recent years mobile phone owners here have been paying increasing attention to the “bling” factor of the latest releases.

“People using luxury mobile phones are changing their handsets twice a year. Some people, those who can afford it, change their phones two to four times a year or more if there are new models with the latest styles and functions,” said Ko Sithu, manager of the Mayangone township branch of Parami Lugyimin Cell Phone Villa.

The growth in high-end phone trade is being driven by the acceptance of phones as a fashion accessory in their own right, observers say, noting that it marks a departure from the early days of Myanmar’s mobile phone market when the ability to communicate on the move was luxury enough.

Introduced in 2000, mobile phones were initially chosen for their quality of reception. But after the market began expanding rapidly in 2005, Ko Sithu said increasing emphasis has been placed on advanced features and the style of handsets – so much so that phones, he said, were becoming a form of jewellery.

“Out of the whole country, about 5-10 percent of phones fall into the K70,000 to K80,000 range. But the proportion of phones worth K100,000 or K150,000 has jumped to about 50pc in 2006-07, compared to 35pc in 2004-05,” Ko Sithu estimated.

“In Yangon Division, Nokia handsets occupy 30-35pc of the market while about 15pc is held by Sony Ericsson.

“Many luxury handset owners are men aged between 30 and 50 whose focus is not only on a good communication network but also on memory capacity, a big viewing screen and other functions like entertainment features for music and video recording,” he said.

At the pinnacle of the Myanmar market is the Nokia N93i handset with a 3.2 megapixel camera, voice dialling, Bluetooth and a bundle of internet features not applicable here.

Retailing at around K1 million, the phone was introduced by GSM Care, although the shop’s manager admitted at the handset’s Yangon launch in May that it was unlikely to capture a large chunk of the market.

The most popular phones, manager U Tin Win Hlaing said, were still priced around K120,000.

However, U Maung Maung Tun, manager of Elba Electronic Showroom at Yuzana Plaza, said a phone’s appearance could lure buyers to a more expensive model.

“Most customers are businesspeople, as well as some female customers who are interested in the colour and design of handsets so that they’ll match their clothes,” U Maung Maung Tun said.

Ko Sithu added: “Men prefer big, black handsets, ring tones are important for younger customers, and women focus on colour and small, sleek designs.”
U Minn Thein, a 40-year-old electrical engineer, said he recently upgraded to his third handset in two years after acquiring a second GSM line. Previously, he would swap his SIM card between phones depending on his fashion tastes that day.

“If a high-end phone had useful functions and good reception, I’d think about buying it whether it was expensive or not. I like fancy, stylish handsets,” U Minn Thein said.

“This new phone has a video camera, which is great for taking pictures with my friends. Personally, I prefer handsets with a simple, neat and tidy design, a light colour, small size and soft buttons.

“Today, luxury mobile handsets have become very fashionable for both old and young people,” he added.

“I think it’s normal for people to want to get the latest products when they appear on the market.”