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I understand the doubts about the Zzapo 720 offer. There is a general rule that says if it sounds too good to be true, it is most likely not true. And the Zzapo phone deal sounds too good to be true. A smartphone with a fingerprint scanner, 4GB RAM, and 64GB storage for ₦8,000 is an absolutely fantastic offer. There is also a Zzapo phone variant with 6GB RAM + 128GB storage version that the company says goes for a promo price of ₦9,000. They say it isn’t available yet though.
First, I must say that I understand the concept of a limited time introductory offer of this sort. It is a great way to generate buzz and publicity for a new brand. And it works. Everyone is searching for information about the Zzapo 720 phone, or saying one thing or the other about it.
But there are bits and pieces of the offer that leaves me with more questions than answers. Zzapo says that the phone sells for ₦8,000 from now till Friday 6th of December and that it will be available at a price of ₦45,000 from Monday 9th.
But then, for a while, they left out the bit that the phone will not be available to those who pay that amount for another 21 days. That made me uncomfortable. I know someone who went to Zzapo’s Ikeja office to get the phone and it was only after getting there that she was told that she would get the phone after 21 days.
In the last 24 hours though, they have published news items on online publications [1] that state this clearly, but as at Tuesday, everyone who was paying was in the dark about that 21-day wait period. People assumed that they would pay and get their phones immediately. Leaving that bit of information out doesn’t look good.
This is a sponsored “press photo” from a supposed Zzapo 720 launch event published on Linda Ikeji blog yesterday, 3rd Decemeber 2019
Next up, if the same phone will be available for ₦45,000 from Monday 9th of December, are those who pay ₦45,000 going to get it immediately or will they get a waiting period too? If they are getting it immediately, why make those who take advantage of the early bird promo wait 21 days? What is then the joy in being an early bird if someone else will get the phone before you?
To make it all the more confusing, Zzapo Mobile says the phone costs ₦108,000 originally. But if you pay ₦8,000 now, you can get it. And from next week, it will cost ₦45,000 till the end of 2019. It leaves everyone with more questions than answers.
Is Zzapo 720 phone a scam?
It is difficult to sit at my desk and call someone else’s operation a scam without any proof. It would be a stupid thing to do and I would be setting myself up for legal trouble.
A few things about this offer do not add up. The introductory promo price of ₦8,000 is rather low for a phone that supposedly originally costs ₦108,000. Even for a campaign that is meant to generate initial buzz for a new brand. But I have no access to the workings of their strategy.
I also do not know anyone at Zzapo Mobile. MobilityArena has published specs and info about the Zzapo 720 because it is our job to publish information about mobile phones.
Is Zzapo 720 a scam? I do not have adequate information to confirm that it is or to assure you that it is not. Maybe it is. Maybe it isn’t. Maybe it is just a poorly executed campaign. Should you buy it? I am also not in any position to tell you to buy or not to buy.
Zzapo 720 panoramic camera; Is the Zzapo phone offer a scam?
But you cannot go wrong waiting till it is physically available for you to pick up, which means you will likely have to pay ₦108,000 for it (if we are to believe that price). And on this matter I can tell you for sure that the Zzapo 720 phone is definitely not worth that price. Zzapo has been silent about the processor in the phone, only saying it is Snapdragon. Which Snapdragon chipset? 450? 636? No-one has any idea.
In all, they have provided only sketchy specs so far. If you are trying to woo buyers with a promo, I would expect a disclosure of full specifications of the device in question.
There are super awesome smartphones in the market from known brands that have 6GB RAM and 128GB storage for less than that price. And with ₦70,000 or less, you can get great smartphones with 4GB RAM, 64GB storage and great performance right now.
If you do buy the Zzapo phone, please do share your experience in the comment section below. We want to hear from you.
January 2020 Update
People who paid a deposit for the phone are still yet to have it delivered to them. However, Paystack, the payment processor used by Zzapo, is now issuing refunds to depositors. A support email sent to a depositor on January 7th, 2020, “Kindly note that we are refunding all the customers that made payments to Zzapo and you should receive this within the next 15 working days.” Some depositors have receievd their refund already.
I am not aware that Zzapo Mobile has issued any official statement since the refunds by PayStack began.
References
- Sponsored publication on Linda Ikeji. LINK .
Author:Mister Mobility
Digital Skills and Communication Coach | Mobile Phone Connoisseur since 2001 | Tech Blogging since 2004
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In the last few years, we saw Google introduce computational photography and take the camera phone world by storm. The new Pixel camera outshot everything in the market and quickly took its place as the camera to beat. And a fanbase quickly grew out of this. Team Pixel was born, and since then, Google Pixel phones have been the de facto kings of smartphone photography.
Other manufacturers, like Apple, Samsung and Huawei, danced around – and a little below – Google Pixel phones for a while. It was clear that the competition were not resting on their oars. Gradually, Huawei began to deliver smartphones with cameras that produced better photos than Google Pixels. They kept pushing. The others too. And it has paid off, because, finally, the Google’s 2019 Pixel phone is so far down the list of best cameraphones that it is almost embarrassing. Is this the beginning of the decline of Team Pixel?
How will Team Pixel react to this development?
I am using data from DXOMARK. That is the outfit that conducts extensive real-world tests on smartphone cameras and then scores them. Some will argue that DXOMARK is not 100% accurate. Maybe so, but then it cannot be argued that their testing is flawed and so untenable. As a matter of fact, much of their scoring agrees with the conclusions of the best smartphone reviewers from around the world. That is proof of the validity of their testing. So, scores from DXOMARK are what I am using to draw up this list.
All the camera phones that beat Google Pixel 4
Here are all the camera phones that have been scored higher than Google Pixel 4 this year [1].
- Huawei Mate 30 Pro – 121 marks
- Xiaomi Mi CC9 Pro
- Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
- Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus 5G
- Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus
- Huawei P30 Pro
- OPPO Reno 10x Zoom
- Samsung Galaxy S10 5G
- OnePlus 7 Pro
- Honor 20 Pro
- Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus
- Google Pixel 4 – 112 marks
In all, we have 11 smartphones that have a better camera than the Pixel 4 and a total of 6 smartphone manufacturers that have multiple cameraphones that are better than Google’s latest. Huawei has 3. Xiaomi has 1. Apple has 1. Samsung has a whopping 4. OPPO has 1. And lastly, OnePlus has 1.
How is the mighty Google Pixel camera fallen. But let’s not make a big deal of this. It isn’t ther first time that a giant has fallen from the pedestal of superb camera phones. Nokia, for example, used to have the best cameras on smartphones for a while, but look where we are today. There is not a single Nokia phone on this list. No Nokia phone is in the top 10 best cameraphones today – and Google has just dropped out of the list too, seeing that the Pixel 4 is in the number 12 position.
How are the mighty fallen, indeed. This is a big blow to Team Pixel. But then, these are intensely competitive times in the smartphone world.
The brand to keep an eye on for the best camera phones is Huawei. The reigning champ is a Huawei, and there are 2 more Huaweis in the top 10 list. And we are still talking about the main camera. If we flip over to selfie cameras, here is what we get:
Best selfie cameras of 2019
- Huawei nova 6 5G – 100 marks
- Galaxy Note 10 Plus 5G
- Asus Zenfone 6
- Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus
- Huawei Mate 30 Pro
- Google Pixel 3
- Google Pixel 4
- Samsung Galaxy Note 9
- Huawei P30 Pro
- OnePlus 7 Pro – 86 marks
We see many of the same phones with the best rear cameras listed here as well, just in a different order. The Mate 30 Pro is here, as are Galaxy Note 10 Plus 5G, Galaxy S10 Plus, Pixel 4, Huawei P30 Pro, and OnePlus 7 Pro.
Members of Team Pixel will be dismayed to see that the Pixel 3’s selfie camera scores higher than the Pixel 4’s. Was that Google doing a moonwalk?
Anyway, in all, we have 3 Huawei phones, 2 Samsung phones, 1 Asus phone, 2 Google Pixels, and 1 OnePlus phone among the best selfie camera. And once again, a Huawei takes the top spot. See what this is all pointing to? Watch out for Huawei. Of course, Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, OPPO and OnePlus are all in the game too and any of them can pull a huge surprise to upset things.
Team Pixel and Team Nokia: The Way the Cookie Crumbles
I mourn the fact that Nokia phones are not even on the radar anymore. The Nokia 9 PureView, while a powerful camera phone in its own right, is clearly not so friendly to non-professional photographers, as mentioned in my earlier article, 4 types of smartphones you are not likely to buy in 2019 . The consumer market is where the huge numbers are.
It is also sad that Google Pixel phones no longer have the brightest smartphone cameras on the block. This is a huge blow to Team Pixel, though I doubt that the above facts will shake their allegiance to Google. If anything, they will argue that their beloved Pixel phones are still the best thing since sliced bread.
The rest of us can humour them. We are pleasant like that. 😉
References
DX0MARK smartphone camera reviews: LINK .
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Author:Mister Mobility
Digital Skills and Communication Coach | Mobile Phone Connoisseur since 2001 | Tech Blogging since 2004
