Mobile reviews have been at the core of the mobility blog. This was our primary focus at inception, and you loved it and kept coming back for more. Of course, you love the tips and help articles too, as well as the bits and pieces of information that we provided.

We are renewing our focus on mobile phone and app reviews here. This means that you can expect great articles about devices and apps on your favourite OS platform, or budget range. It means that you will also get more help articles on how to make the best of whatever devices you choose to purchase.

In the last few days, I have made contact with key organisations who can provide us devices. We are hopeful for devices running Android and WindowsPhone. We already have ongoing support from Nokia, so you can expect reviews of devices running Symbian, MeeGo, WindowsPhone and S40. RIM are currently setting up office in Lagos, and we hope to reach out to them as soon as they are on the ground as well.

Have you heard of Mi-fone? I heard that they produce excellent devices for the African market. Their range includes both feature phones and Android smartphones.

We hope that we can connect with Samsung Nigeria (our Android fanbase here would be ecstatic, I can imagine).

We are also trying to reach Huawei and others.

In the meantime, some reviews are already underway. Low-end, mid-range and high-end devices are all covered. It can only get better. And more exciting.

Comments welcome!

Celebrating the essence of the Mobility blog

Early this morning, a reader by the name Dan submitted a comment that included a statement that encapsulates my vision for the Mobility blog. Here is the statement in question:

This is a great website. You don’t bash, you just review for everyone. Thanks.

Year after year, despite the popular trend of bashing phones, brands, and platforms in the mobile space, I have insisted that this blog will not join that bandwagon.

Rather, it has been my objective to see that facts and figures are presented. Fanboyism is something that I don’t tolerate among our staff, and no rabid fanboy piece gets published. I always exercise my right as head honcho here to trash any fanboy articles sent in for publication.

I am a man of strong convictions, so I run a tight ship – and have no apologies for this. This world has been moulded only by men who dare to take a firm position, and not by those who dance to the blowing of every wind.

With regards mobility, here are principles that I stand by:

1. Every phone, every brand, and every mobile OS have their strengths and weaknesses. No platform is perfect.
2. There is no best phone or OS out there in the blanket sense. “Best” is relative to each individual’s needs and personal preferences.

I expect our team members and writers to abide by the above guidelines in their writings and presentations. This way, we are able to present useful information for all and sundry.

That way, users of all platforms and all types of mobiles immediately feel comfortable on the Mobility blog. We have everyone covered.

Commenters are free to be as rabid as they choose, but what we publish must be factual. That is my position.

Of course, each writer, myself inclusive, has personal preferences which show through in our writings, but even those preferences must be built on facts and information, not rabid Fanboyism.

To reiterate: We review and publish information for everyone here: Symbian, BlackBerry, Android, Windows Phone, iOS, and any others that our resources enable us to lay our hands on.

Thank you, Dan, for that precious comment, and thank you for reminding me of what makes the Mobility blog unique in a world so full of hype.

In the meantime, anybody wants to celebrate…. one leg up!

Dear readers,

We are planning to publish a number of reviews soon, but thought it would be interesting to involve you in deciding what phones to review.

You tell us what cutting edge, top-end, or budget devices you would like to have reviewed on your favourite blog, MobilityNigeria, and we will go after it.

Happy commenting?

I have had plans to do regular reviews of Nigerian websites with a view at looking at how mobile-friendly they are.

The reviews will focus on websites that have been developed to be mobile-friendly. From there, we plan to create an online directory of Nigerian mobile websites for public access on Mobility Nigeria.

Hopefully, we can also help drive some extra traffic to those sites whose owners and developers have been visionary and taken the pains to make them mobile-friendly.

Here are the requirements:

1. Nigerian websites that automatically load a mobile version when you access them on your mobile phone, or
2. Nigerian websites that present you with a link to their mobile versions on their homepage when you access them on your mobile phone

Please submit your contributions using the comments box below. Thank you.

Traditionally, the Mobility Nigeria team has focused on reviews of higher end mobile devices. In truth, that is where most of the action have been for years. The higher end of the mobile market is always the cutting edge, and that is what we have focused on.

However, with the current economic climate we understand that many phone users will be looking more at the mid-tier range for a balance between cost and features – and that makes a lot of sense.

We also see that manufacturers are now in a drive to push out some high-specs mid-tier devices. Think of the Nokia 5800 and the E63. Under normal circumstances, devices with those capabilities didn’t come at those prices.

But even the 5800 is still in the higher bracket of the mid-tier. On the lower rungs of the mid-tier are some interesting devices that we will be bringing your way.

Help Us Bring You These Great Reviews

You can help us bring you more great reviews by patronising Alireta for all your mobile phone purchases. Here are some of the benefits of buying from Alireta:

1. – our team of consultants will help you narrow your choices down to the best 3 devices suited to your needs and budget
2. – have your phone delivered to your home or office
3. – have your phone configured for internet and/or email via GPRS/EDGE/3G/HSDPA on your network (optional, and also network-dependent)
4. – enjoy the option of a 30-day instalment plan i.e. put down a deposit of 75% of phone cost, and a cheque for the balance to be presented within 30 days, and take immediate possession of phone
5. – upgrade phones purchased from us within 365 days of purchase by trading them in for new ones
6. – enjoy telephone and email support on phone usage, features, troubleshooting, and data configuration (9am – 4pm, Mondays through Friday)

Call 0808 439 1076 or 0806 216 7275 to place your order.