Ridiculous Philippine Carrier Situation

[WanderingTraveler]

So I actually took the time to go to a mall sometime last week.
Well, what I saw was shocking, considering the carrier situation everywhere else.

There are three carriers in the Philippines, SMART, Globe and Sun.
These carriers aren't exactly smart in terms of their decisions lately, and things don't look bright for Windows Phone. But, we have the rest of the world to rely on, right? (puns intended)

First, I went into a SMART Store, and wasn't exactly shocked by what I saw.
iPhone displays, left, right and center.
I kinda expected that. Every other phone they appeared to be pushing is either a cheap BlackBerry or a Samsung Galaxy.
I was surprised that they actually bothered to carry the 8X and appeared to carry the ATIV S.

Either way, things weren't bright there. I'm serious about that. They actually turned some of the lights off!

So, I headed to the Globe store (which was just beside it)
And, no WP in sight. Nada. Only some Samsung Galaxies and cheap BlackBerries, Android phones and the occasional Asha.

It's a shame, though, the only network that provides LTE in my area doesn't have a good selection of Windows Phones. I was ready to switch to them, too.

Which leaves me with my network.
Sun Cellular. Arguably the worst network in the Philippines.

What I saw there wasn't surprising.
As a budget carrier, they managed to collect various cheap Androids, which all look the same.

Oh, you noticed I was leaving something out?
EVERYONE WAS PUSHING THE Z10.
AS HARD AS THE iPHONE 5.

 

[cuzincurly]

The Philippines worships android, apple and blackberry. The marketing for bbz10 is beyond ridiculous, as if it's the best phone to come out ever. I thought smart is going to exclusively carry the 720, but it didn't happen

 

[joshlayson]

It's quite ironic that the Philippines isn't focusing on the marketing and development of the Nokia Lumia phones lineup right now, when in fact, Nokia was the #1 phone in the Philippine marketplace for the past decade -- at least in my perception. This issue doesn't solely just go to Nokia Lumia, but to Windows Phone community, as well. I'm expecting to have a boost of the Windows Phone market in the country, and ultimately ditch BlackBerry. Majority of the Filipino gadget fanatics I met said that "getting a BlackBerry is like getting a Mercedes Benz." I don't really care about such 'reputation,' but BlackBerry and arguably most Android phones are just too overrated. As a matter of fact, BlackBerry, feature-wise, is getting way behind mobile platform giants Android, iOS and Windows Phone. Go with Windows Phone, Philippines!

 

[WanderingTraveler]

It's quite ironic that the Philippines isn't focusing on the marketing and development of the Nokia Lumia phones lineup right now, when in fact, Nokia was the #1 phone in the Philippine marketplace for the past decade -- at least in my perception. This issue doesn't solely just go to Nokia Lumia, but to Windows Phone community, as well. I'm expecting to have a boost of the Windows Phone market in the country, and ultimately ditch BlackBerry. Majority of the Filipino gadget fanatics I met said that "getting a BlackBerry is like getting a Mercedes Benz." I don't really care about such 'reputation,' but BlackBerry and arguably most Android phones are just too overrated. As a matter of fact, BlackBerry, feature-wise, is getting way behind mobile platform giants Android, iOS and Windows Phone. Go with Windows Phone, Philippines!

Tell that to the carriers who promote the Z10.
If the carriers (I'm looking at you, Globe) stopped advertising all things BlackBerry, BlackBerry would be dead in the Philippines.