We were pretty hyped when Lazada Philippines announced the availability of the Nokia 6 here in the country on January 26, 2017. However, Flann Gao of HMD Global reached out to us via our official Facebook page and claimed that the units being sold by the online shopping website are not legit.
“The Nokia 6 is only launched in China and is only in black via our exclusive partner JD.com. That Lazada posting is not legit,” he said.
He said this because the Nokia 6 product page on Lazada displayed a white color variant of the device despite the fact that only the black variant has been launched. HMD Global currently owns the rights to use the Nokia brand for mobile phones and tablets. The company launched the Android-powered Nokia 6 smartphone exclusively in China on January 8, 2017.
Meanwhile, Lazada ensures that the Nokia 6 being sold on their online shopping website is 100% legit and has passed a proper screening process. The company is also backed by Chinese online shopping giant Alibaba.
Curiously, the Nokia 6 product page now shows that the device comes in black, not white. It’s being sold by a trusted seller named Hellotronics.
Mr. Gao further warned that these units have software which is fine-tuned for Chinese users and the warranty is only valid within China.
Lazada Philippines does have 7 days replacement warranty and 14 days repair warranty for the Nokia 6. The third party merchant also has one year of warranty and a dedicated customer service hotline.
I explained the situation to Mr. Gao and he was receptive. His main concern is the welfare of the customers. He concluded that “someone must bought those from JD.com and shipped them to Phillippines”.
He then promised that HMD Global is working very hard to officially bring Nokia smartphones to more markets including the Philippines. They are also humbled by the hot reception they got from China and around the world on their first android product.
I’ve tried contacting Hellotronics but as of the time of posting, I haven’t heard from them. Update will be posted once they respond.
