MIDDLING PHONES

Hi there, I have been looking to buy a smartphone for around Rs 40,000. I’ve looked at a few options and all of them look nice. I don’t have any particular aspect where the phone needs to excel. I would be okay with a phone that performs well overall. Which one would you suggest?

—James Gurung

Hi, James! Yes, the mid-range smartphone category is very crowded and I understand what you must be going through selecting a smartphone for yourself. I will help make your choice a little easier. I have reviewed all the mid-range smartphones that came out in 2018 and I think you can go choose between brands like Huawei, Xiaomi, Vivo and Oppo. The Huawei Nova 3i, the Vivo V11, the Xiaomi Pocophone F1 and OPPO F9 are some of the options for you to choose from. All these phones perform well and will not disappoint you.

The Huawei Nova 3i looks the best among the four. It features a glass body and the minimalist design is very eye-catching. Apart from being a gorgeous-looking phone, it has a power-packed Kirin 710 processor that is very efficient. The phone also comes with a good set of cameras and an enduring 3,400 mAh capacity battery that will last you for long enough.

The second option would be the Vivo V11. This phone has thoroughly impressed me in the selfie department. With the rise in camera-centric phones, companies like Vivo have buckled up in their camera performance. Furthermore, the V11 also provides you with adequate gaming and overall performance.

Similarly, OPPO is another brand that has been fighting the camera battle and gives neck-to-neck competition to Vivo. Both the OPPO F9 and Vivo V11 use the same chipset so you can expect both to perform similarly. Both phones also come embedded with fast charging technology and will give you more or less similar results that are decent.

Lastly, and my personal favourite, is the Pocophone F1. This phone is the king of performance in the mid-range section with its Snapdragon 845 chipset. This processor is used in high-end phones like the Galaxy Note 9 and the One Plus 6t, so you can expect it to perform better than other mid-range phones. The Pocophone F1 also fares well in all departments, like cameras and battery, so it is a good overall phone that balances everything. The only downside to this device is its aesthetics.

So there you have it, the four mid-range phones that I would recommend. You can take your pick from among these, but like I said, the Pocophone F1 would be my choice.

CHOICE OF SPEAKERS

Hello Pratima, I love to travel and I go on frequent trips. The last time I went travelling, I lost my Bluetooth speakers. They were a gift so I don’t quite remember the model number or its exact name. I am planning to travel again and am looking for Bluetooth Speakers that will perform well. Also, I only have a budget of around Rs 5,000. Could you recommend some decent speakers for this price?

—Sulav Basnet

Hi Sulav, I am sorry you lost your speakers. But don’t worry, there are plenty available in the market that match your needs. It seems like you are looking for portable yet powerful speakers and I might just have the right recommendation for you. I am sure you must have heard of JBL, a company that makes some of the best speakers around. JBL recently introduced a line of portable speakers called the JBL Go 2, which are very impressive in terms of sound quality. They also look good with their rectangular boxy design in addition to being super portable and light, weighing in at only 184 grams. Like many other portable speakers, they are also water resistant and so, can be carried around in any weather. They are available in 12 colour variants so you can take your pick. The JBL Go 2 is a great performer when it comes to sound. It can crank out any kind of music and is loud enough to fill up a room, that too with minimum distortion.

If you’re wondering about its battery, the speaker comes with a 750mAh capacity battery, which will provide you with four hours of continuous playback at a loud volume. This is great performance for a speaker of its size. Additionally, the Go 2 has a shape that will fit comfortably in your pocket and even while holding it in your hands. And with the amplification it provides, it can certainly outdo others in the game.

MARKETING 101

Hello. I am in the second year of my Bachelors and I am thinking of opening an online cosmetics store. I have contacts for getting inventory but I have no idea how to promote my online store. Since I am just starting out, I don’t have a considerable budget for marketing. So, could you please suggest how I could go about my store online in a cost-effective manner?

—Jigyansha Baral

Hi Jigyansha, it’s nice to hear that you are thinking of starting something on your own. Regarding your promotion needs, I would say it has become much easier to conduct promotions for online or offline businesses via online platforms. You just need a strategy. If you’ve observed trends in Nepal, a significant proportion of our online population is on Facebook. Similarly, many young people have started using Instagram as their medium of social networking. So it follows that you need to focus your promotional campaigns on these two platforms.

I would suggest that you first create a Facebook page and an Instagram page for your business. Starting a business page on Instagram and Facebook is free and easy. Then, build a website. You can create websites for free through various online platforms, even though they might be limited in functionality. You can purchase a full website once you get going. After you’ve done that, display all the information of your startup on its respective pages—from what are the core values of your business to where people can reach you, everything needs to be put down clearly on those pages.

When you have done that, it is time for you to reach a larger audience. For that, you will need an international bank account or payment service. PayPal is one of the best platforms to do so. A Paypal account can be used to pay for boosting activities on your pages. Even with a $1 boost, you can reach more than 500 people at once. This is a generic way of doing it.

You then have to keep your pages updated with latest products and information, and conduct giveaways and competitions for people to remain engaged with your page and your business.

Don’t forget to respond to queries on your pages, that shows how responsible your business is. As your business page is only virtual, it is with timely replies and polite words that you can win the hearts of your customers. Additionally, you can create a ‘suggestions’ section on your social media pages for people to give feedback. For starters, these can be easy ways to promote your new business online in a cost-effective manner. Thanks for writing.