Some thoughts on the Nhava scandal

L.S.M Kabweza Avatar
Nhava Laser One
Nhava Laser One
The Nhava Laser One, sold by Nhava Holdings

When we wrote an article about G-Mobile launching a range ‘local computers’ last year, we mentioned the controversial issue of local companies (Nhava & G-Mobile) possibly buying unbranded computers, getting them branded with their company name and selling them locally as locally made computers. We asked the readers for their opinions on the matter and reactions ranged from “low price is all that matters” to “Guys adding a sticker to a clone made in china is not true innovation.”

Today, a local daily newspaper, NewsDay, carried an article titled “Scandal dogs Nhava Global” where the writer, a colleague of ours, uncovers how Nhava is duping the nation by claiming they (Nhava) actually manufacture the low priced gadgets. What’s more, Nhava hasn’t been delivering laptops to civil servants that have paid upfront for the gadgets. One civil servant mentioned in the article got his money refunded (with no interest) after six months, when he threatened to report the matter to the police.

Misleading the market into believing you manufacture a product that you clearly do not, is deception and criminal. Nhava Global certainly does not manufacture any computers.

But the line gets thin. The wildly successful G-Tide mobile phones for example have become a household name in Zim selling phones that look like BlackBerrys, Nokias, Samsungs and iPhones. In fact, some of the phones have the traditional Nokia ring tone resulting in a phone that looks like a Nokia, feels like a Nokia and sounds like a Nokia but is not a Nokia. Some models are even branded with a slight misspelling of the original name. “Nokla” for example. Surely, misleading a buyer into thinking they’re shelling their hard earned dollars for a genuine Nokia is wrong, right? Criminal?

G900 G-Mobile BlackBerry
G-Mobile G900, A BlackBerry lookalike sold by G-Mobile Zimbabwe

It gets even thinner. As “fake” as these mobile phones are, I have had numerous people respond to my “do you know this phone is fake?” question with something along the lines of “Look, I know it’s not a BlackBerry. I cannot afford a BlackBerry. I bought this phone at $60 and it can do all the fancy stuff I want it to do; Internet, messaging and the like. It even has TV and very loud speakers for radio & mp3, features I want but the genuine BlackBerry lacks.”

Nhava and G-Mobile are hardly alone in this low cost Asian gadgets business. There’s Zivo as well in Avondale, Harare. And we’re sure there is a couple more out there.

Just to be clear, we don’t support the cloning of successful brands so you can sell yours cheap without running the cost of building your own brand. However you look at it, there’s no fairness at play here.

And if Nhava indeed claimed they manufacture computers, I guess they made their bed and will have to lie in it somehow. It would also be interesting to know if these computers run genuine copies of Microsoft Windows.

We’d love to know your opinion on these low cost unbranded PCs, misleading consumers, fake Nokias and BlackBerrys. Please share in the comments below.

 

70 comments

  1. Zigweje

    I heard their version on Black berry is called Bread & Berry is it true lol

    1. Winston

      that’s the funniest comment i have read on this site in a while.

    2. Krypa

      ROFL…..hahahahahahahahahaha, Bread and Berry?!gosh.lmfao

  2. Debonair

    This is a difficult one to call, At this point we can only be happy that the devices are affordable and that they are not selling them at the price of an original. These people are bringing technology to the people. Its all business at the end of the day, and its only illegal if there is a law in zimbabwe that disallows it.

    So what if they are not “Original”?

    1. Itai

      So they are plagiarists, and that sounds like a criminal term.

    2. Joe Black

      It would only be misleading if they were delivering. But now that they’re NOT delivering, it’s theft.

    3. Sang Noir

      The worst Nhava can be accused of is lying about manufacturing locally and defrauding people of their money. When it comes to rebranding/rebadging- that is pretty common practice in the Consumer Electronics space, especially for laptops cellphones.

      HTC originally had all it’s products rebranded (by Orange, Vodafone etc) until they decided to use their own brand straight to consumers. You’d be forgiven for not knowing the Huawei U8220, it is otherwise known as the Vodafone 845, T-Mobile pulse and several other aliases. In the US, the Samsaung Galaxy S has 6 rebadged variants (all made by samsung).

      If Nhava have and agreement with their Chinese suppliers, it’s perfectly legal for them to rebadge the equipment. Also related http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reference_design

      1. ryan manyemba

        point of correction, when orange sells fones after rebranding, they offer service nd support that is up to task, let me explain. the 3g doggle sold by ecoet is theexact same one sold by vodafone, the only difference is they customize the software, you can even forcibly update the firmware straight from the manufacturer’s site, the only difference comes when the supplier, in this case econet do not offer good service, that becomes the problem, i have been servicing computers for the past ten years and i will tell you this, the same problems we faced with sahara laptops years back when they didnt offer back up for drivers and other proprietary softwares is wat we are having with nhava, they have a good business idea, but in truth lake proper hands on experience, you could argue sighting the example of Dell selling printers made by lexmark. another example is Foxconn, its the largest manufacterer of electronic product bar none, they make the iPhone, iPad, etc, but take note of the service and expertise offered by Apple, thats wat nhava is not doing, they sell 10” touch screen tablets which will give you hell when they have to be re-installed.
        as a side note to them, they should just be truthful about their non existent(i cant seem to find it) support website and allow user to download drivers and support information from there, even companies like Hp and Acer do so, or they could use mercer’s strategy which employees the services of a third part site, ie mustek.co.za. and they should either use Intel reference designs on their laptops for greater efficiency and quality of dsign or employ the services of renowned companies like Foxconn, instead of sharetronic

        1. Nhlanhla

          just saw your comment now while sitting in fron of a nhava moonse notebook that I’ve been trying to load an operating system for 2 days. I’ve tried Windows XP, Vista and 7 and I’m still not getting anywhere. do these guys have their own Operating system?

  3. Fakenails

    the nhava laptops are very fake and they dont have windows genuine licence keys as windows do on all new laptops ,these guys should be brought to the police as they are misleading a lot of people get real guys

  4. Washington Matemai Mkombodzi

    what nhava and others are doing is the same thing as hp and dell does. they jus brand the computers. if you strip apart an hp you wont find a single part inside manufactured by hp from the processor, motherboard, fan, hard drive and dvd writers. they jus assemble the aparts into a casing branded with thier name. i dont see anything wrong if companies in zim do the same.

    1. Mr TG

      At least they are assembling. These guys are taking an already assembled cloned machine and label it as if they have assembled it….Thats criminal my friend!

      1. Nick Kare

        do you know the Zimbabwean law about what is illegal or not or you are just claiming kuti this is illegal without having consulted the constitut? Have you consulted Nhava and understood how they are doing business? It is people like you and the writer who make these discussions meaningless

    2. Norman Nhliziyo

      Its not the same, firstly for the licensing secondly, the way Nhava has been portrayed it doesn’t even seem as if they provide support for “their” products – that makes a huge difference.

    3. Troy

      Nhava & others are doing something that is far from what HP & Dell does. The latter do not just brand computers. Do further research Matemai. HP & Dell has invested $$$millions in their Plants whilst Nhava is struggling to settle their credit facility with civil servants.

    4. ryan manyemba

       point of correction HP and other companies actually design their laptops then they employ the services of companies with higher standard of manufacturing in this case mainly Foxconn to make those designs, thats the difference, they invest in the designing, they do not just buy off the shelf, as ‘techiez’, let me give an example we will all understand, which company makes the best gearboxes? it aint BMW, Lambo, or Ferrari, nope, its ZF, that’s why its used by all major makes like BM, Merc, Lambo, Rolls Royce etc(they already have the world’s first automatic 9-speed transmission), the same applies for Haldex, they make the best all-wheel drive systems as used in Volvo XC 90, Audi TT gen1, Freelander 2 etc, point being as a major manufacturer you look for the best parts in the industry at any given time then combine them to make quality products, Nhava does not do that instead it just sums up the cheapest in the world and then makes a profit from that. if they offered the best parts it would be easy to get drivers from manufacturers like Broadcom, Realtek, Intel etc

  5. Ransome Mpini

    This is a shame. I remember in your article http://www.techzim.co.zw/2010/11/nhava-to-launch-tablet-device-in-a-couple-of-days/ there was an ‘obnoxious’ (in my opinion) comment from Financeguru and in his own words in reply to a user Nerd Mregi;

    “Hey wasup Mregi. Iam R. Chidembo’s son and as you may know we have a majority interest in Nhava. We have invested figures that will blow your mind in this company and your comments clearly seem to be undoing our hard work. Criticism is always essential because that whats makes you improve but please be more fair in your judgement and wait until you have actually seen and used the device youreself. Thats a basic necessity for being a critique dont you think? Thank You.”

    Personally i must admit at first i thought Nerd Mregi was just arguing for the sake of arguing and being anti-innovation. but as i followed his argument i realised he had a point. and hey i am honestly sad to say Nerd Mregi was right in his criticism.
    I probably would have bought one of these not because i think they are great but to support home industry. this is sad. please why not just keep quiet about it. thank God for the internet. you cant get away with lies these days.

    that said, when my home country innovates i applaud but please not this fraud

    1. Nerudo Curtis Mregi

      Im the Nerd Mregi 🙂
      I’m happy we are now on the same page. We need something that isnt fack. I myself have ideas that are innovative on a huge scale ideas that can change the IT sector not cloud the IT sectr wth incompetitive solutions which only create junk in the end and more expenses.

      I can invest in a R17k Vaio and have it over 3 years without any problems than invest in a Nhava which will enumerate more costs than my Vaio and still feel cheap.

      Zimbabwe needs more investement n IT infrastructure and we have to focus on our .co.zw space tp creat innovative solutions not to simply ship jargon into our country.

      NO TO NHAVA

    2. chasekwa

      Ransome I found it rather arrogant for this one Finance guru in his own words in reply to a user Nerd Mregi;

      “A man once told me it is easy to come up with problems but only a TRUE man can come up with solutions. Im sorry mregi but I have never heard of you in my life. At least Nhava is actually doing something productive in creating a product for Zimbabweans. What have you done for Zimbabwe? You need to stop being so negative about what others are doing and focus on getting your money. Until you drive a Benz and live in The Brooke, like me, Im not going to take you seriously.”

      Money is not everything

  6. Robert

    ah mazhingaz akazara mu Gabs, clone phone are irritating, thats just a backward mentality supporting such. I dont think Zimbabweans deserve such deception out of their hard earned money!
    I hate those things!

  7. Nerudo Curtis Mregi

    When I came to the shore on one of the articles you first wrote I criticked this Nhava thing and people were shouting I was being negative and all that. You guys thought I was hating werent you. Well now you have the toungue out of my mouth.

    Trust me Nhava is dead as we speak just likee I predicted. I just love it when I prophecy. They call me Nerd by the way go to the article and see the sense I knocked into this loser idea. NO ONE IS THAT ZIMBABWE MAKES COMPUTERS

    1. Skupahigh

      In as much as fakes suck, the truth the Zim mobile industry wouldnt be as it is today without G- Tide #fact. These guys came in with an innovative idea and offered the market what it wanted # basic economics + awesome entrepreneurship, u my friend Nerd are a prophet of doom.

      Instead of being negative on what these guys are doing, u should be out there doing something about it. U say you have ideas that could change the IT sector on the whole, while you are having those ideas these Nhava guys are changing the IT sector. Man talk is cheap actions rocks stop talking and get in the market and give us the original stuff then ey!!!!… Coz hey fakes suck

  8. ngth

    Many devices are manufactured en mass in huge processing plants in Asia, all top laptop and phone brands do this, so I have no problem with Nhava doing it, however they need to do it right, if they are doing nothing except importing the product then they are helping no one in Zimbabwe and doing nothing for our IT sector. Does anyone know the answer to any of the following
    – Where nhava involved in any of the design or choosing the specifications? HP design their own cases and choose their own specs but get it assembled in asia, do nhava do the same or are they buying a prespecced machine waiting for their stamp.
    – Is any work at all done in Zimbabwe? Does it create any jobs even if it is just setup or branding the name on? I hope they dont get any special duty or vat cos they coming in as “parts” as opposed to a completed product.
    – Is the software on there legal? If not this is a serious crime as they are duping their customers who will be blocked and need to pay more for getting legit software.
    – Overseas there are laws about imitating a brand too closely eg NOKLA, do these apply in Zim? Probably but it is just a case of the big companies not worrying too much about the Zim market to prosecute.
    – Are their mobile phones running pirated software or are they running a custom system written by the manufacturer.

    I commend any Zim IT company that were too design their own laptops, get the majourity of assembly done in asia, finish the product here and issue a legal, well made product at a cheaper price to the end user. It sounds like Nhava is doing none of this. If they were I would go as far as recommending some higher duties on other brands to try further our economy and create jobs, who knows with a bit of support such a company may become a regional hardware supplier.

    1. Johnmokwetsi

      Nhava does not design neither do they. The pirated Windows angle is something I did not research but all this is something I am working on. You raise good questions and I am answering all of them in my next article.

    2. Norman Nhliziyo

      I must say, I was never a big fan of Nhava right from the offset. What they did was wrong

      Regarding other brands, the G-Tides, Nokla, “fake” as they are, these are the right products for our market for many reasons, cheap, durable etc, as long as the consumer knows what he is buying.

  9. Joe Black

    The difference between Nhava and G-Tide is that G-Tide are selling CLONES … they’re not pretending to be Nokia or Samsung or Blackberry, as only a cursory examination would reveal.

    They’re meant to LOOK like the high-end phones they mimic, and that may be criminal, but it’s not the same thing. They actually make these phones.

    Here, Nhava purported to be MAKING these laptops, yet they were just (allegedly) putting their stickers on shit machines from China.

    So whereas G-Tide make their clone phones look like name brands, Nhava make other people’s clone laptops look like their name brand.

    1. Anonymous

      Hey Joe, G-Mobile (who at one point where the distributors of G-Tide, or still are) do slap a “local” brand on their phones, like the “BlackBerry” in the picture.
      Their website about page says:
      “G-Mobile is a home-grown Zimbabwean Trademark company which produces the highest calibre of mobile phones with an emphasis on quality, durability, price and originality. The mobile phones have exciting functions and applications for business and other features that meet the current ICT global market trends.”
      http://www.gmobilezim.com/aboutus.html

  10. Johnmokwetsi

    Being the writer of the Newsday Story I will tell you as a matter of fact that Nhava misled the nation. What disappoints me is that Tinashe Shangwa writes to friends on his Facebook that I am a hater. Well, the story of Nhava is just starting and I am sure what I will uncover in my next expose will shock you.

    1. Ransome Mpini

      keep up the good investigative journalism Johnmokwetsi. Are you on any social networking site coz i’d want to keep track of your articles without having to follow all newsday publications

    2. Onit

      Thank-you for the reporting. If you should know, it was not the only time Nhava has been under probe. In 2009, the Ministry of ICT was actually embarassed after endorsing and praising Nhava as a local manufacturer of computers. People raised the same alarm they did now, correcting them that they neither manufacture or innovate as they claim. The Ministry vowed to always investigate before rushing to endorse something.

      I know enough people who have had bad experiences from using their computers. I would still advise someone to purchased either a low-spec known & trusted brand or get a second hand one instead.

      I was surprised to then hear of a massive roll-out to civil servants. To avail cheap computers to the underexposed. How they then worked their way in, I dont know. I decided to leave it the same way I left the Fiscalised Tax Register issue where people got away with a flouted tender award process (even after probes from the Computer Society and the Institute of Chatered Accountants)

      As IT people it is our responsibility to advise consumers well and, in all honesty, Nhava is a very bad product.

      Perhaps they should re-organise themselves, bring forward better models and we will gladly endorse them if satisfied. Or even partner with known and trusted brands like Dell, HP, Toshiba or lower cost ones like Asus et al for this specific market. That would be good. BUT DO NOT CLAIM TO MANUFACTURE THEM. surely, we all know what manufacturing is.

      In the IT industry,you can easily get an alternative to the brand by assembling together ATX cases, motherboards, Graphics cards etc, and selling them. That is a common, cost-cutting practice that can even land u with a very cheap and sometimes even better performing configuration. Calling this process local manufacture would be misleading the public. It is not.

  11. SaFaith

    I decided to buy a $420 Compaq Mini from FirstComm even though Nhava and Zivo had cheaper netbooks. I doubted the originality of these netbooks given the prevalence of $100 BlackBerries and N97 in the phone market. I chose to part with more money for a warrant that made sense and product which i knew would get definite support.

    While G Tides and those N73 that take 5 sim cards make sense to the mobile network operators because more subscribers have access to the phones, the same cannot be said of laptops and netbooks.

    A phone can be disposable but a laptop or desktop is a long term investment. You are looking at 3 yrs min so better buy something that last. Otherwise u will forever be screwed.

    Viva OGs.

  12. Gattuso

    I would like to urge you Mr writer to use terms that you are fully abreast with. In your article you are claiming that phones that have their own brands are fake yet in actual fact they are original in their own right. Imitation is not a crime but counterfeiting is, so do not treat both these cases as one.
    Another fellow here is talking about pirate software and a software is said to be pirate if and only if it has been illegally copied and distributed without obtaining the license genuinely so if you look at the operating systems running on these phones they are not pirate because they have been made by the manufacturers.
    I think before we shoot Nhava down we should first appreciate the job they have done by providing Zimbabwe with affordable computing resources rather than some of you guys who are not patriotic and go around criticizing a local company even though they have misled the public into beleiving that they were manufacturing.
    If you look at the manufacturers around the world they provide you a good that goes with the money you afford so don’t go around saying that you want HP or sony laptops, iphones, Galaxy tabs etc. when in actual fact you cannot afford these luxuries at this moment.
    Ngatimboshandai nezvinoenderana nemari yedu!!!!!!!!!!!!

    1. Anonymous

      “I would like to urge you Mr writer to use terms that you are fully abreast with. In your article you are claiming that phones that have their own brands are fake yet in actual fact they are original in their own right.”

      I’m trying to understand what you mean @nick: a phone that’s branded Nokla, and uses Nokia ring tones, looks like an original Nokia, has Nokia menus, and is shaped like a Nokia, IS ORIGINAL IN ITS OWN RIGHT?

    2. ryan manyemba

      First a quick reply to your own philosophy of everything being ”original in their own right”, small house haisi mukadzi, good i think that one is clear. Now on the laptops, read carefully, Apple DEVELOPED the iPhone 4 (key word developed) and used in excess of 100 million US$ in doing so, it then had exclussive contract with other companies to mass produce this 100 million dollar design (which was good enuff to sell more then 3million units in three weeks, all because of a good quality design, combine with superior workmanship). here’s a brief summary of such companies,
      1. the ‘retina display’, made by LG, who so happen to make the Optimus 2X which competes directly with the iPhone4
      2, the Apple A4 processor, made by Samsung, who are themselves making the galaxy range of product,(take your pick, they are all good)
      3. chipset for GSM by Infeneon (its parent company being siemens) a company with a revenue of 3,3 billion us$ (2009/2010)
      my point is its takes far more investment in design than in just resell, to me Nhava is more like OK or TM, they might sell baled beans fine, but we both know its companies Olivine and Cains who subcontract farmer, and they tin the tin so to speak, of better still, HP is live Olivine, and nhava like the tuck shop in the hood where they tell you, bread is coming tomorrow morning, but they dont know what time, my question to you all is, would you give that guy at the tuckshop you money before the bread comes? just asking

  13. M. Ngole

    I am number 1 critic of Nhava I remember commenting in one of your Nhava articles about the quality and performance of these machines. If you google the model number under the laptop you will find who the real manufacturer is.

    1. Johnmokwetsi

      Help me with the names

      1. M. Ngole

        Can tell if you show me the laptop.

  14. Wellahzvinas

    the nhava laptops are complete rubbish they shd be arrested for those cz they r not genuine and od not hev proper licensing from microsoft cop.bt for phones i can bear with them cz at least they are giving the technology to th e pple at affodable prices cz ryt nw most pple are dying to get smart phones bz of broadband

  15. Muchamaya

    have not used the Nhava, but been to China. bought unbranded machines which they would have branded nhava-izere-mhepo if i wanted. crappy little things those machines are I tell you.
    And for one to dupe the whole nation into believing they are munufacuring/assembling
    these crappy machines is criminal

  16. Tafmak3000

    @ Nick Kare, Mr Kare I think the Onus is on you to be fully abreast of the terms YOU use. Firstly you say

    ìIn your article you are claiming that phones that have their own brands are fake yet in actual fact they are original in their own right. Imitation is not a crime but counterfeiting is,î

    Counterfeiting and imitating in a legal and or linguistic context are basically interchangeable in fact in Word processors like MS Word those two words are suggested as replacements or alternative for each other. Any way In the world of intellectual property the design of a product that is to say itís shape, software, material composition or in some cases even itís colour and smell are a result of a tremendous amount of emotional, financial and intellectual investment on the part of the creator, it is for this reason that patents, trademarks and copyright protection exist. Any of those elements as a combination or individually are a property of the manufacturer. Books for example contain words that are free to be used in whichever way by anyone, however the specific combinations of certain words in whichever language to make a unique story becomes the intellectual property of the author. If author B decides to come and copy the exact combination of words from a Charles Mungoshi novel and then uses his own paper, a different front cover, a foreign language, a pink font color and calls his version of the novel G-Novel or G-Story, it is still Mr Mungoshiís book! Whether itís a counterfeit or imitation thatís up to you mr Kare !!!î .

    You then suddenly and unashamedly go on to say,.
    ìa software is said to be pirate if and only if it has been illegally copied and distributed without obtaining the license genuinely so if you look at the operating systems running on these phones they are not pirate because they have been made by the manufacturers.î

    Do you realize that everything that is manufactured has itís own manufacturer , that does not make it legal or genuine. Fakes are manufactured too. You make the mistake of assuming that the manufacturing process of software is burning it onto disk! No Mr Kare software especially has a very long non- tangible lifecycle before it is released on a disk, flash disk or as a download. There is R&D conceptualization, development, testing, retesting ,trouble shooting, some more testing and then finally Thousands or Billions of dollars later a .exe file may exit the other end of the production line which is where you unfortunately start (at the end). Piracy often happens before the product is released and it does not necessarily involve the act of copying anything. As long as binary code (which is what software essentially is) that belongs to someone is kept, viewed, used, repackaged, sold or redistributed by someone else without the express instruction or permission of the owner is piracy, you can call it robbery or rape for all I care.

    Confidently you add
    ìrather than some of you guys who are not patriotic and go around criticizing a local company even though they have misled the public into beleiving that they were manufacturing.î

    I donít know what your web browser is showing on your screen. For the rest of us this article is not about the price of Nhava merchandise (which is not the cheapest in Zimbabwe by the way) . What every body seems to be angry about to me is that Nhava like you amazingly say yourself ìhave misled the public into believing that they were manufacturing.î YET THEY ARE NOT!!! in Zimbabwe that is a crime (misrepresentation, false advertising bla bla bla.) What the writer seems to be patriotically saying is that dishonest businesses in Zimbabwe must be brought to book. What you are saying Mr kare obviously remains the cryptic mystery. ARE YOU ARBREAST OF THAT FACT!!?

    1. Masimba

      You sir need to be thanked.

  17. Taps

    I m surprised all you guys thought NHAVA was the actual manufacturer

    1. Onit

      most people, even those from Nhava know that they are a manufacturer. actual manufacture would require technology, machinery and a plant that would too significant not to notice. it would make headlines(even regionally) and would definitely be talked about. you dont just out of the blue manufacture stuff when u dont even have a single plant that deals with circuits, chips and related components.

      it is the lay consumer and decision maker who is misled, and whom we would like to protect and to be well-informed.

      1. Onit

        EDIT:
        most people, even those from Nhava know that they are NOT a manufacturer.

        1. Tfmk3k

          They don’t need to have a plant in Zimbabwe or anywhere else to be a manufacturer! What we thought is that they designed the machines, chose careful the material compounds and architecture of the machines themselves then subcontracted a plant in China to make UNIQUE nhava machines. These people were simply reselling ready made machines. Apparently the model numbers on the machines (not names) are from the original manufacturer not nhava.

  18. Blessing

    nhava is a cheap alternative.i can use my machine for 45-60 mins without even charging.160 gig memory better than most of your machines..

    1. Tafmsdfak3000

      That’ts not the point! we are saying you are not using a nhava in the first place, you are using a 汉语/漢語 laptop. It would be better AND cheaper if you were to buy yourself the OG machine. The problem with these products is that they are not robust, fully supported and backed up so that at the end of the day they turn out to be more expensive not only for you the use but for us the tax payers who have to subsidies some of these poor imports. Over 2 years you will spend more replacing that nhava 3 times than say some one who is using a 1999 Dell Laptop. A classic example Gov vehicles, look at how the government has spent more in the long run replacing the CAM and Great Wall vehicles than say the Mercs that seem to turn out cheaper than the CAM’s in the long run. For every Gov Merc that is still on the road today there are about 7 DEAD!!! CAM’s piled up some where!

    2. Nhlanhla

      When my acer was two years old i could use it for 120-150 mins without charging it and i won’t even tell you about the HDD size, you might flash your nhava down the drain. Have you ever used a different brand or you are still in the kindergaten of the IT world?

  19. Info-passion

    What I really didnt like was especially the fact that NHAVA seems to take advantage of the rural and semi-urban struggling folks ignorance of information technology…I read with great disgust how they swindled the Mhangura guy in the News Day. Musadaro akomana!

    1. Tafmak3000

      Cheap budget computers are not bad I think, In fact I believe they are the future for Africa. The thing isif you are going to sell budget PC’s make it clear. Go ahead target the rural folk, make the laptops rigid add solar chargers they must be repairable with a huge spare parts base and support and basic standards compliant design and manufacture with awareness and training programs, Give people real practical value for their money. Now that’s a Nhava I’d Support!

  20. Info-passion

    Nhava could be cheap quality but to put the record straight it is relatively expensive. For instance their mini cost US$450 whilst one can get the same mini on a better brand (Accer, HP etc) at US$390.

  21. @Technologist

    I think this JohnMukwetsu should be called “Nhava Leaks”…Nhava had almost convinced me they were the designers of those imported chinese rubbish!

  22. Johnmokwetsi

    Thank you @technologist

    1. Anonymous

      In other words you accept? lol

      1. Johnmokwetsi

        Yes I glady accept Kabweza..wait for the next one..it is a shocker

  23. Nyasha

    Okay so 3 points:

    1) software licensing – Microsoft only licences original equipment manufacturers – therefore if you have bought a Nhava laptop you should have a Microsoft licence key (nice blue box with microsoft all over it). If not you as the user are actually in bigger trouble than Nhava itself.

    2) Nhava could by all means and all the patriotic people need to hear this – buy clone machines and brand them whatever they would like. Its business!- good business in a poorly supplied market like Zim. But misleading users on the manufacturing is unnecessary and illegal.

    3) Although the mobile phones like G-tide etc are also part of this conversation- they are not necessarily illegal. If branded differently most of these guys use their own java software and the tech in the phone is very different from the phones they are trying to imitate. From my perspective this is a policy thing where Government needs to look into consumer protection around the NOKla’s which clearly are trying to dupe the consumer.

    1. Tafmak3000

      @ Nyasha… Bare in mind copying the shape or ‘likeness’ of another product beyond reasonable grounds like the G-Berry pictured above is illegal too. A design forms the basis of what a product is not just software and hardware. i.e a Merc S500 is it’s shape, not just the engine or GPS system!

  24. @Technologist

    Young consumers are now connected to media almost at all times! which would rationally lead you to think that the more places they are connected, the more ways there are (and the easier it is) to get information. This is what NHAVA should know. As such for them to try to mislead the whole Nation (and their young techno savy target market) that they are manufacturers of Laptops is reckless .

    Why not invest our effort, time & all to nurture and develop real Information Technology Solutions for our society. Yes Nhava we will manufacturer latpos one day as Zimbabwe. But the first step is to ACCEPT our current competencies and limitations and then find our way around them

  25. @Technologist

    Companies in Zimbabwe are in a unique position today: They have an unprecedented inability to access finance through various channels. As such, what has arisen from the NHAVA scandal should be condemed as it puts businesses at a more worse situation. Companies deserve better a better deal from their Indegenous business counterpart

  26. Tafmak3000

    Nhava The Fall Of The Giant That never was!

  27. Masochag

    I’m interested to know the position of the Standards Association Of Zimbabwe on Nhava and G-Moblie

  28. chimwedzi

    G-Tide was founded by a guys called Chaibva with the assistance of a banker called Gwatidzo who is my personal friend before i left Zimbabwe beginning this year. Originally Chaibva and Gwatidzo went with the idea to Shumba who invested some substantial amount of cash but the business partners had huge differences resulting in the split/demerger of G-Tide sometime last year.G-Mobile was born headed by Gwatidzo.I have been following these events from outside.G-Mobile from my own research is re branding to something called Swav Mobile and they will be specializing in laptops and cellphones.G-Mobile is doing well currently.I dont know about G-Tide.I made efforts to get hold of Chaibva and he refused to shed light sighting confidentiality before banging the phone down.Basically all these guys buy phones from China, re-brand them and sell them to the Zim masses on credit. I really genuinely love the concept and the guys are making money.My main worry is how these guys are getting the phones get into Zimbabwe (ZIMRA) and if they have an approval to sell the products on credit from relevant authorities. I dont seek to open a can of worms on the issues i raised but guys please be innovative.Buy the machines that manufacturer the phones then we will start talking.

    1. Anonymous

      Thanks. a lot of helpful information.

  29. Martinm

    Cat is out of the Bag! Nhava say at least something to us…

  30. Chaibva Victor

    Business Innovation present something new, something undiscovered, something untried in business world and market where operate a particular business. For every innovation, the greatest responsibility is in entrepreneur. Even the business that was founded by the entrepreneur is an innovation.

    Can i challenge you out there make an effort to contact the relevant guys.I believe the respective guys will shed more light into their business.My name is Victor Chaibva and please Chimwedzi dont use my name next time.

  31. futurepresident

    Zimbabweans amaize me; first get your facts right! secondly instead of being supportive, you are a shame to development. You and yo country shall never-ever develop with that retarded mentality. Here are yo country-men trying to do something …but you drag them down..as if you are from other country..even not planet….If they said they are designing …but fo the fact fact that they are limited in finances and prefer contracting out …is it a problem. Where is there a law that prohibit one from contracting out for economic reasons. They need not to locate in Zimbabwe, they can do manufacture anywher as long as they have copyright over hwat they design. one can claim copyright if the idea has been transaformed into material form. You can not hush and hush criminal act and/fraud….unless they misrepresented teh consumers in anyway about the product’s attributes. I am encouraging many others to be innnovative and start challenging current products wwith that mentality Zimabwe will develop…fro Future President

  32. 6thsense

    6thsense
    these cats reaped me off vakuru. to top it all. i had to leave the machine with lots of data. had initially removed the harddrive. funny nhava got burnt. hanzi replacement. investing in a decent machine period. mazhingaz anetsa 

  33. Collettawanda

    the nhava people should develop their laptops from scratch,building their own motherboards.instead the nhava people are into pc assembling

  34. Sakupa

    Does it matter how the cheap computer got to the user? Not everyone can afford these big brands, and it seems these nhava guys did what i would have done if i was bringing cheap, shitty computers in from outside. I would justify their shitiness by claiming they were locally made, so support us. Nothing wrong with a few lies, big business does it all the time. The people have cheap pcs. Nhava makes money.

  35. Is the Astro Virtual 2 just a rebranded version of the Chinese iNew V3? | Techzim

    […] believe they are one of our strongest tech startups locally. However, we don’t need another Nhava scandal and the guys at Astro need to backup their story if they are to remain credible in the eyes of the […]

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