I toyed with the idea of replacing my phone. I have a Sony Ericsson Android which was getting badly scratched on the screen; it does everything but in slow motion as it has a slow single-core processor. I felt no urgency in replacing it though; I like its more compact form compared to most smartphones. But on the other hand, the compact form meant that the screen was a bit small for my deteriorating eyesight at close range.
As we had much of the day to kill, we took the MTR to Kwai Fong (changing at Lai King) and walked to the mall. It wasn’t a flash place, so I was optimistic about getting good bargains if I desired anything, including eating and drinking (juices).
I found a shop which had a variety of Androids. Some looked nearly identical to the Apple iPhone 5, Samsung SIII etc. I chose a generic-looking dual-core dual-SIM model called Zopo Libero+ for HKD1300 (NZD200).
Even better, when I presented my old phone, I was offered a trade-in of HKD700! But when they realised the badly-scratched screen was in fact the screen (and not the protector), they offered HKD650. Not a bad trade-in value considering I was quoted that amount to replace the screen somewhere else in the mall.
Back at the hotel, when I had a chance to test-drive my new toy, I was pleasantly surprised at how fast it was! I don’t know how I survived with that slow Sony Xperia Ray. It appears that anyone can make an Android phone and make it well too. I don’t know why there is such a premium for certain brands if that is truly the case. A search for the internet shows that the specific model sells in various countries for around NZD260.
Departing Hong Kong on the flight to Auckland, the cabin crew were required to do a manual safety demonstration. Being longhaul crew, they obviously haven’t had much practice. They were very very uncoordinated (with the badly-scripted PA and with each other). In fact, I’ve seen AirAsia’s Singapore-based crew do a better job with a manual demo to a language which they did not speak or understand (ie. no good audio cues for them to point to or pick up various items).