Nokia, Blackberry, Samsung or Lenovo - Which Phone Would You Prefer?

Abuja - Agbaje Olushola stares longingly at the Samsung Galaxy S4 and Tecno N7 smartphones on display in the Banex Plaza technology market in Abuja.
The 32-year-old engineer already owns three handsets, yet said he is prepared to pay 100,000 naira to 150,000 naira for a smartphone to add to his collection.
"I'm a phone freak," said Olushola, clutching a BlackBerry in his left hand while a black Nokia Oyj N73 peeps out of his jeans pocket.
"If you don't have those smartphones you look less trendy in society."
Soon Olushola, whose second Nokia - an N900 - is charging in his car, will be spoiled for choice as Microsoft and China's Lenovo try to grab a slice of a market already occupied by BlackBerry, Samsung Electronics and Tecno Telecom.
Both will introduce devices to a country where the number of smartphone users is expected to increase to more than 35 million in 2017 from 5.6 million at the end of last year, according to research by Informa Telecoms & Media.
Nigeria, Africa's most populous country with more than 160 million people, is projected to grow its economy by 7.2 percent this year, above the 5.6 percent average for sub-Saharan Africa, according to the International Monetary Fund.
Mobile phone companies see it as a particularly attractive market because many Nigerians own more than one device, allowing them to take advantage of cheap tariff deals and overcome patchy network coverage.
Data Subscriptions
MTN, the largest mobile phone operator in Nigeria with 51.3 million subscribers at the end of March, increased revenue from data services in the country by about 64 percent in the first quarter partly because of increased use of smartphones, according to Brett Goschen, chief executive officer of the company's Nigerian unit.
MTN shares declined 0.9 percent to 180.39 rand by 9:40 a.m. in Johannesburg, paring its gains this year to 1.7 percent.
"The biggest driver is the devices, particularly the smartphones," which appeal to those who need to access the Internet at work, Goschen said in an interview in Lagos, the commercial capital.
"Once he can do that and use applications on smartphones that really drives the data usage, that’s really where the increase is coming from."
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