Graphic pics on new phone

A major electronics retailer is investigating claims that pornographic photographs were found on a mobile phone purchased by a student in Cairns.

The university student said she found graphic images of a woman, and another of a man, among 49 photos stored on the display phone she was sold at a Dick Smith Electronics store in the north Queensland city.

"It's sickening to think I've been using this phone near my face when it was used to take all of these photos," the unnamed woman told The Cairns Post.

"What would've happened if that phone was bought by a child?"

Dick Smith Electronics today told AAP it was taking the student's complaint "very seriously" and urged the woman to return the phone to aid its investigation.

Benedict Brook, a spokesman for the retailer, said it had seen a handful of the images in question, and the one or two images that were pornographic were blurry.

"The quantity of the people and the pornographic images is still not clear," he said.

"Obviously, we're taking this very seriously and we're investigating what's happened here.

"The phone they had was a display phone. They're sometimes used by staff to take pictures to show customers how to use them and ... they're supposed to wipe those phones before they are then sold.

"We've talked to all of our staff at the Cairns store to see if there's any information they can help us with.

"We encourage all of our staff to give the phones to customers in as-new condition."

He said the retailer's Queensland manager had met with the student who bought the phone and discussions about compensation were ongoing