Dhaka, Nov. 22 -- Last week, my boyfriend's phone was snatched on his way to work. I partially blame him, since his phone is perpetually hanging halfway out of his pocket, yearning to slide out and finally taste freedom. I also feel a little sorry for the snatcher, because stealing his Grameenphone-branded Atom probably took more effort than it would fetch in the black market.

In a way, it turned out to be a blessing. When his old phone died, he began using his dad's eight-year-old Atom and never got around to replacing it. Two days ago, he finally bought a swanky new one, all kitted out with a matte black exterior and internal software that doesn't freeze if someone calls in the middle of watching reels.

Yet the phone still isn't fully...