Synchronising the universe of technology, The Univercell Sync experience

Work and life has minimised, to having storage in cloud and processing power in hand, that is, a smart phone.  When such powers are bestowed upon oneself ain’t one inclined to muse more deeply into what kind of prowess to behold. Thence began the sojourn to Univercell Sync store. It was a pleasant day to start with a cool climate which was gradually moving to hot, typical Chennai. I had these thoughts of what my role is as I go to the Univercell Sync shop. I could be a regular blogger, a curious window shopper, a mobile critic, a customer. I had my options open as I was also considering making a purchase.

One month back I was in search of a mobile. My criterion were very simple. I needed a good music player, since I’m a student of music, also a decent web handler for the occasional ticket booking, social networking and a camera not less than 5 MP with a flash. I was on three-five online stores almost all days. And every week I was seeing a new release of mobile. Most confusing were the decisions in the budget of 5000 INR. For Karbonn, Celkon, Intex, Nokia all had good suggestions for me online . I was in search. Google could not help since there were so many parameters to be checked and compared across various sites. The gsmarena site was good for end comparison between two phones and the reviews. Flipkart was most confusing with mixed reviews and thousands of buyers in each phone category. Life was not simpler thanks to Amazon, snapdeal, ebay, homeshop18, cromaretail and exclusive launches that I had to check on. Some sites like Junglee and smartprice gave some bearing though very vague.

I could not depend on my friends as all had different company mobiles and each liking their own. They could cite the good and bad of their own phones but could not zero in on what is best for me. Some great engineering friends could tell me how the dual core and quad core handles a multitasking scenario, switching and interrupts. The greatness of Qualcomm Snapdragon vs the omnipresence of Mediatek. The need for a higher Ah( Ampere-hour) rated battery for a 4.7 inch screen if I wanted to go without charger for one and a half day. It was too confusing. The fun of dilemma was increased more when I played the game on MI site to create my own phone. They give a set of components , each having its own price tag. The total budget set at 8000 INR. The best design will be scored on the basis of entertainment, multitasking, battery life and so on. The exercise gave me an idea on how much a phone costs as per its prime components, viz. RAM, processor, camera, number of SIM slots etc. But some companies like Sony put more into your phone . There were things/jargon/terms like ClearAudio+ technology. Sony smartphones go into schematic details of how their phones reproduce best quality music. In search of mobile phones my knowledge may have increased but I still use the Nokia 100 for I am not able to pick a smartphone for myself. And the knowledge gained from words of letter do not let me suggest a phone to someone with confidence. What is the solution? I needed to have some hands on experience. I had experienced laptops and tabs at Croma store but not phones. One that was in Mobilestore where dummy pieces and dead weights. How can I see what is there for me. For instance I saw many go behind the hp slate 7 a low priced tab for its function, some say that the price was reduced due to glitches and quality issues. On one day, one reviewer gives all thumbs up to it , on another day , some just smash that image to pieces by scribbling how their piece of technology is so useless and crappy!

As I searched for phones I also had to search for service centers nearby. I remember taking a Nokia “supernova” phone 150 km away to service centre and then go back home and come another day when the phone was ready. And the service was not great since the phone started on its symptoms again after a few months. The access to service centre and the quality of the service also mattered. I had all this in mind as I entered Univercell Sync showroom at Sterling road, Nungambakkam.

The showroom had a neat and fresh look, as if it was not a regular mobile shop. Greeting smiles welcomed me inside. I had a walk around. There was a space which captured my attention, the music section. The showroom assistant gladly helped with his explanation of different sections. He explained the music section very nicely, and allowed me to check the difference between beats audio headsets in-the-ear and over-the-ear (which costs 15k). I was surprised!, who will let you check such an expensive item before purchase ? Thrilled by just the sound of it I went on to explore more. The music section had phones and headsets which you could test with any permutations and combinations and then decide which is best. The phones were all live and you could see all the functionalities of it. The showroom assistants are helpful and would guide to choose the desired aspects. Mr. Abhimanyu explained the  concept of Univercell Sync, why it is relevant now and why it is a requirement of mobile industry.With a little bit of background history on market for mobiles and current scenario, the plethora of designs, and functionality makes one’s mind wobble. The number of phones, the number of apps and accessories all are intended to make your life simple. The idea is to get the best out of technology for one’s life and hence the Univercell Sync shop. The specialty of the shop is that the phones and tablets are all live. The phones are all categorized into following sections.

• Imaging section
  1. With a studio setup and photo printer to check the camera quality
• Music section
  1. With headsets that one can check for quality before purchase
  2. With other accessories such as Bluetooth speakers and sound shooters
• Work and play
  1. Where the phones full performance and capabilities could be checked. In fact, there was TV on the wall which displayed content from a smartphone.
• Top selling desk
  1. Updated once a month with top-selling products
• Bazaar section
  1. The section is for phones which are jack of all trades but master of none. This is best budget smart-phones section, displayed very neatly and in accessible manner.
• Children’s section
  1. There were tabs on display which the kids could spend time with. This relieved a customer to focus on the job at hand viz. looking for a phone. This is a very thoughtful of Univercell, nobody could check the full features of phones with a more delicate issue at hand viz. children.

Each section had a questionnaire relevant to that section that the user can cross check. The showroom assistant could guide with the parameters of the phone and give options as to which phone is the best for the customer.

The WOW (Walk out Working) factor The value addition comes when someone can tell how to choose your phone apps and install it before you leave the shop with the bill. My sister had a phone from ebay which costed 12k INR. I had a basic phone with Bluetooth and I wanted to transfer a song and see the sound quality of the supposedly smart-phone. But the android did not have  a Bluetooth transfer option. Being new to android at that time I was shocked that somebody sold a phone at that price without Bluetooth. That was cheating ! I searched on net and later concluded that the phone was android phone and a Bluetooth app had to be installed. Relieved and reassured I went on to check the same. If someone could provide all this basic features and apps in the phone with the bill then it is really nice. The Univercell Sync provides WOW ( Walk out Working ). All the apps that are required will be installed before we leave the shop. This greatly reduces the time and effort required to search and install. Also, lets us save time for what we do the best.

Univercell provides the best phone that meets our desires. There are almost as many brands and phones as people’s wish. It is for the buyer to choose the best among the lot. We are in  a world where our dream phone is really in the market, though obscured by choices and numbers.  We may be constrained by budget, also willing to take whatever discount available on the internet. The Univercell makes this simple by EMI options and help the customer buy the best phone that suits them in an easy way.

The Univercell shop becomes a single point of reference for all your mobile issues if it comes up. There is no need to send your mobile purchased online to unknown places and wait. Univercell provides a warranty service in which there is door pick-up and delivery. I personally am very afraid to handle the phone a friend recently bought. What happens if it slips, falls and breaks, everyone will be disappointed. But, Univercell provides total care package where within the period of care there is replacement guaranteed for screen and parts. Now, with that I need not be afraid to let my friend check my new phone. Univercell Sync was a pleasant experience, it brings the human touch to digital world of purchase. The personal touch with which customer and purchase is valued is evident from the schemes of total care and pick-me service. When there is an expert to guide, we can reach our maximum potential. Here, the Univercell really shrinks, simplifies and synchronises all the needs of customer through Univercell Sync experience.

PS: This entry was written for indiblogger Univercell Sync Contest.  This was published on 1/9/2014. Received the prize for valid entry : Philips soundshooter SBA3010BLU/00 on 30/10/2014.