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It's a conspiracy. Forget lofty claims about portability or functionality - mobile phone manufacturers are making handsets smaller and smaller so they're easier to lose, forcing us to buy replacements and keeping their shareholders happy. Unless it's hanging around your neck (which is not a good look: Yes, you can afford the latest model. No, we're not impressed), it's only a matter of time before you leave your handset in the back of a cab.
But what is worse than losing a $4,000 phone designed for Lilliputians is losing the data stored inside it. Re-inputting the work/home/mobile numbers of your 100 best friends ranks along with cleaning the silver and Christmas card-writing as one of the world's worst chores.
There is an alternative. Take your phone to any SmarTone branch (www.smartone.com.hk) and staff will back up your phonebook onto a floppy disk. Then when you next lose your phone, simply take back the disk and they'll transfer the saved numbers onto your new handset. What's the catch? Refreshingly, there isn't one. You don't have to be a SmarTone subscriber or buy your new phone from the company to access the service. Simply cross their palm with silver - a $5 coin for subscribers, a $10 coin for everyone else. Other operators such as 1010 offer data back-up services, but the SmarTone service is unbeatable for convenience. There are few bargains left to be had in Hong Kong but this is definitely one of them.
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