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| College Student Changes Cellphone 500 Times in 9 Years |
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Zhang Yi is a dream customer for the world's cellphone manufacturers even though he is not loyal to any particular model of handset -- the 24-year-old student from Constantly on the lookout for new functions, "I still haven't been able to find one that really suits me," he said. The journalism and communication student kept one cellphone for almost six months but ditched another one after just 12 hours. His first cellphone was a present from his father in 1998, when few people were using mobile phones. It cost more than 8,000 yuan (around US$1,025) and was expensive to use. "The phone had limited functions. To me it was only a pager and I got rid of it in less than two months", Zhang said. In 1999, as simplified Chinese displays and text messaging became available, Zhang upgraded again. But his new cellphone didn't have any real choice of background colors and ringtones, so he swapped it for another. From 1998 to 2002, he owned 14 cellphones. With an array of new mobile phones appearing with sexy new functions. Zhang began changing his mobile phones much more frequently. "I buy a phone I like on impulse, and then sell it again later on. At a rough guess, I must have lost several thousand yuan upgrading all the time," Zhang said. Statistics from the Ministry of Information Industry indicate that More and more people are buying a second mobile phone -- almost 70 million in 2006. The figure is greater than the number of people who bought their first cellphone in 2005. With (Xinhua News Agency March 11, 2007) |
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