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Consumers warm to the touch screen phone
- Getting the user interface right will be key to success, but a
market exists
Reading, UK – Thursday, 14 June 2007
For immediate release
Canalys today revealed more results from its recent consumer
mobility survey, which show how receptive European consumers may be
to emerging mobile phone design trends, such as the use of touch
screens. The online survey was conducted in April among more than
2,000 employed, adult mobile phone users in France, Germany, Italy,
Spain and the UK.
Following Apple’s iPhone launch, several handset vendors have
announced their own finger touch-screen devices, for example the LG
Prada phone and the HTC Touch. Vendors going down the touch screen
route face some big challenges, in gaining user acceptance, in
winning over operators who have strong content and branding
aspirations themselves, and not least in building an interface that
actually works well all the time. The rewards, however, could be
significant for those that manage to overcome these hurdles.
Regular, widespread use of mobile phones by consumers for
applications beyond communications is still in its infancy in most
countries. Less than 10% of those surveyed by Canalys were paying
for and downloading ringtones, pictures, games, videos or music on a
recurring basis, but more than twice as many had tried doing so at
least once. In contrast, more than 70% of those whose phones had
integrated cameras were using them regularly. Using the camera is,
of course, free, but is also typically only one button press away.
“Although the user interface is only part of the solution to
expanding the market, it is a critical part. You need compelling
services and content, and transparent and fair pricing,” said
Canalys senior analyst Pete Cunningham. “But if the interface gets
in the way people will soon lose interest or choose other platforms
to satisfy their needs. More than half of those we surveyed said
they disliked having to learn where all the features were when they
got a new phone.”
Phones that have a larger screen, giving more flexibility over
the placement of application icons and having less reliance on the
location of a limited number of fixed, physical keys could make more
features and services accessible to more users. A bigger display
also allows for more attractive advertising and presentation of
content and, combined with a software-led, malleable interface,
lends itself to the later addition of services by operators, without
them being buried so far down a menu tree they are never found.
“User interface design is very easy to get wrong and you need to
strike the right balance – promoting new or lesser-used services
without compromising access to the features that people use every
day,” added Mike Welch, Canalys VP. “The interface has to be
responsive, and consistent all the way through – not just up to a
point where suddenly another paradigm kicks in. And the standard
features that people take for granted, like using predictive text,
dialling numbers, finding and updating contacts and using the
camera, must work at least as well as on a more conventional phone –
it isn’t just about the advanced applications. If a customer picks
up a phone in a retail store and can’t see how to do the basics
within 20 seconds, they will walk away.”
Execution challenges aside, the Canalys survey reveals a high
degree of acceptance among mobile phone users to the idea of using
touch screen models. When asked about their personal phone
preferences, 23% of respondents said that having a touch screen
interface would be good if it meant they got a large display, but
without increasing the overall size of the phone. A further 10% were
prepared to make a trade-off by ending up with a larger phone in
return for a large touch screen or a good keyboard. Only 28% said
categorically that they just wanted a traditional numeric keypad
while another 24% said that having a small phone was the priority
regardless of input method used. Acceptance of touch screen phones
was up to 50% higher among those who had high interest in having
mobile TV services, mobile e-mail or handset-based GPS navigation,
or who already used most of the features on their current phones.
But the requirement that the larger screen did not result in a
larger phone remained strong across all these groups.
About the Consumer Mobility Analysis service
The research results discussed in this release come from the new
Canalys Consumer Mobility Analysis EMEA service, which provides
clients with analysis of results from a continuous programme of
large-scale consumer surveys. Each quarter, different mobility
topics and country markets within EMEA are covered by the survey to
provide monitoring of trends and reaction to new initiatives,
products and services. In addition to analysis of the survey
results, clients receive regular reports, supporting databases and
direct access to Canalys analysts.
More information...
Analyst photos
Photographs of the analyst(s) quoted in this
release are available in the biography
section and may be re-used by the press to accompany a relevant
article.
About Canalys
Canalys specialises in delivering high quality market data,
analysis and advice to the world’s leading technology vendors. It is
recognised as a key provider of continuous advisory services and
confidential custom projects for marketing managers and strategists
within blue-chip IT, telecoms, navigation and consumer electronics
companies. It has unrivalled expertise in European routes to market
for all kinds of high technology products and services in the
consumer, SMB and large enterprise segments, and provides worldwide
market data and trends analysis.
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