There are not so many of the so-called Black Friday “deals” that are worth a second look, at least locally.
However, in this whole melee, there have been some that have really stood out for me and which I have already taken advantage of (like Pace Africa’s sale that had the PaceMate earphones priced at Kshs 2,000 and the Pace Focus headphones at Kshs 3,500) and some that I regret I either did not stumble on them as fast as was required or I didn’t have the money.
However, as the day slips by, there are some Black Friday deals I have seen that are worth a look.
Note: I have tried but couldn’t find any reasonable deal on Kilimall worth featuring here, to be honest. By this time, unfortunately, a lot of the good tech deals I have seen on Jumia – like that Red Dead Redemption 2 sale and the Pace Africa sale I have already described – are already gone.
1. This Android Go smartphone
The Nokia 1 has been around since the start of the year. Locally, it’s been available for purchase since mid-April. As such, it is a very familiar face in Android circles local and beyond. As HMD Global’s most affordable smartphone, it bears the burden of carrying with it a very famous brand name that it, unfortunately, doesn’t do a good job representing. This is both because of its hardware capabilities (you get what you pay for, after all) as well as failings on the part of the software – Android Go is not where we all want it to be.
All those should come up if you are going to part with the almost Kshs 10,000 price it once went for. However, since HMD Global quickly got the memo and sensed the threat posed by competing Android Go devices from the likes of Transsion Holdings’ itel, Tecno and Infinix and cut the price to just under Kshs 8,000 a month later, things have gotten better ever since. Today, as part of its Black Friday sale, Jumia Kenya lists the device for just under Kshs 5,000, the lowest it’s ever been. For that amount, it’s a definite deal for me. If it’s within your ballpark and you hadn’t picked it already, please do so. It can be a worthy gift going into the festive season.
2. The JBL Flip 4 speaker
My friend Abuya has had this speaker since September last year when he paid Kshs 13,000 for it. He’s been singing its praises ever since and almost convinced me to get it until I fell in love with another JBL speaker, one that could connect to my home Wi-Fi network and had the Google Assistant. But there’s a downside to the speaker I eventually went with. While the sound is good and it’s as smart as I want it to be, it lasts just over 4 hours on its own before requiring to be plugged in. That and this Kenya we live in where Kenya Power dictates how we live doesn’t augur well.
As a result, I have been shopping for options for months now. When this listing showed up on Masoko, Safaricom’s e-commerce platform, for under Kshs 6,000, I wasted no time putting it in my cart and checking out as soon as possible lest it go out of stock like most stuff listed under deals on the site.
If you are in luck and still find it listed – in red or blue colours – then remember to use our discount code, androidkenya, while checking out. It won’t save you much but I don’t think Kshs 300 off is a bad deal either. It will go a long way in offsetting the delivery fees.
In case it bothers you why the price would flip by that much then you can make a reference reference to JBL.com where the Flip 4’s pricing has also dropped to under $60, the same as the units on Masoko. Also, the seller on Masoko is not your usual unscrupulous Nairobi trader. It’s Gamechanger, the same people I bought , alongside lots of other tech products.
3. This “anti-theft” laptop bag
I don’t think this is the best deal for this bag since you can get better rates if you visit certain physical stores in Nairobi but online, well, I think it’s a deal worth giving a second look.
I’ve had a similar bag since last year, even though I rarely use it. The advertised “anti-theft” features are, to be honest just standard as you will get with any other bag even though this one does a good job hiding your zippers. It’s good enough for a sub-16-inch laptop and maybe a tablet and a book, not more than that. You will need an external battery power pack in order to use its hyped “tech” features – charging your devices on the go. What I like the most about my particular unit is that it goes a long way in making sure the rain doesn’t get to my beloved devices.
4. Xiaomi Redmi 6
This device is value for money. That’s what I thought when it started selling in Kenya in September and my thoughts were reinforced when I looked at the price drop because of Black Friday. The 64GB variant, which went for Kshs 17,700 at launch is now going for Kshs 13,000, less than the starting price of the 32GB variant. Deal.
5. Xiaomi Mi A2
I have held off buying the Xiaomi Mi A2 for purposes of reviewing it here because Xiaomi’s local distributors have only had the 32GB variant on sale in the country and, we all know how it went down the last time I tried to buy a Xiaomi Android One device through a third-party, don’t we?
Now, Xiaomi Kenya has the 6GB RAM+128GB onboard storage variant of the Mi A2 up for sale this Black Friday for Kshs 28,500 and I am currently planning a fundraiser to be able to afford it before the offer runs out. If you’re not in my situation, get it. For comparison, I bought the 64GB Mi A1 for Kshs 27,500 in January. Also, this is probably your easiest route to Android Pie at the moment. See the deal?
