Telecom carriers have announced they will no longer support devices using 2G Only technology, and users will have to replace their 2G with 4G-supporting devices. There are two choices: either 4G feature phones or smartphones.

Many people, surprisingly, have chosen to buy 4G push-button feature phones rather than smartphones with touchscreens. This has led to a shortage of these products.

Tran Duc Tin from The Gioi Di Dong, the largest retail chain, said that 90-95 percent of people who need to change devices were choosing push-button phones. He said sales of push-button feature phones at the chain had increased by 10-15 times recently, with 300,000-400,000 products sold every day. 

Retail chains, unfortunately, had not increased inventories of 4G feature phones though they knew that people would rush to buy new phones prior to September 15. They recently began taking action after realizing the buying trend in the market. 

Huy Nguyen from CellphoneS said the push-button feature phones available at the chain are priced below VND1.5 million. The sales of the low-cost products have risen by 4-5 times in recent days. 

He said inventories at CellphoneS are just enough for the next 2-3 weeks.

Nguyen The Kha from FPT Shop has also reported the same situation. Though the store has many brands of push-button feature phones priced below VND1 million, the available number can satisfy only half of demand.

The Ministry of Information and Communications has encouraged people to upgrade to  4G and replace old phones with smartphones instead of 4G feature phones. 

With smartphones, people can use the state’s public administration services on an app on smartphones instead of the website. This is important for people to access digital services, which will hlep form a digital society.

Manufacturers have launched many affordable smartphone models. Oppo, for example, has marketed products priced below VND5 million, which have good design, long lasting battery, and high durability, and have fast charging.

Meanwhile, Le Hong Phong from Honor Vietnam said the manufacturer is going to launch smartphone models priced at VND2-4 million, including Honor X6b, in August.

Trong Dat