Features and Functions: Handset Preferences and Their Impact for Service Providers

SUMMARY

Cell phone users have a wide range of preferences when it comes to phone features and functionality. A new report from In-Stat/MDR segments those preferences, and helps service providers better target their customers.

In this report, titled "Features and Functions: Handsets Preferences and Their Impact for Service Providers," you will find out what consumers, business users and youth expect from their cell phones.

Based on primary research, this report shows that:

• Consumers say a color display is now a must-have feature
• Business users highly value speaker phone/hands-free capabilities
• Youth (18 to 25) want to be able to locate friends with their cell phones

Also, this report has the latest on which features are most important in the coming year. If you need solid data from these three market segments, then this report is a must-have. It has the details of what end-users really think of cell phone features.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Executive Summary
• About the Data
• Methodologies For Data Collection
• Introduction
• Mobile Consumer Preferences
  • Bluetooth a "Nice" Feature
  • Color Display Top Must-Have
  • Little Interest In Over-the-Air Downloads
  • Some Interest In a Microsoft Phone
  • Battle of the Brands: Nokia, Motorola On Top
• Mobile Business Preferences
  • What's Required for Business?
  • Speaker Phone/Hands-Free Tops Features List
  • Short Text Messaging Has Staying Power
  • Paying for Data Services
  • T-Mobile Satisfies Handset Wishes
  • Respondents Give T-Mobile the Nod for Data Services, or Features
  • Verizon Wireless Respondents are Most Satisfied Overall
• Youth Preferences
  • Nokia Top Brand Used by Youth
  • Youth Want Good Coverage, Speaker Phones
  • Voice and Data Strong Among Youth
  • Short Messaging Leads the Data Pack
  • Find-a-Friend Location Service Gets a Thumbs up
  • Motorola, Nokia Receive Top Consideration
  • Who Pays For Mobile Phone Service?
  • Youth Are Willing to Pay Significant $$$ for a New Phone
• Future Features and Functions
  • What They Want in the Next 12 Months
    • Pros and Cons
• Summary

List of Tables

• Table 1. Respondents' desired cell phone features/functions and estimated success rates

List of Figures

• Figure 1. Checking e-mail ranks highest for new services among consumer respondents
• Figure 2. Bluetooth ranks highest as a "nice" feature
• Figure 3. A color display ranks as the top "must-have" feature among consumer respondents
• Figure 4. Respondents have little interest in over-the-air downloads
• Figure 5. Some respondents like the idea of a Microsoft phone, but many do not
• Figure 6. Nokia, Motorola and Sony Ericsson top the list of cell phone brands respondents would consider switching to
• Figure 7. Reliable call quality and coverage outrank all other cell phone requirements for business respondents
• Figure 8. Speaker phone/hands-free capability leads the list of features for business
• Figure 9. In a summary of responses, short text messaging tops list of data services that business respondents plan to continue using in the next 12 months
• Figure 10. What respondents pay per month for wireless data
• Figure 11. T-Mobile wins the satisfaction race by offering phones respondents want
• Figure 12. Respondents like T-Mobile's data services and features
• Figure 13. Verizon Wireless respondents are the most satisfied overall
• Figure 14. Nokia is the top brand used by 18- to 25-year-old respondents
• Figure 15. Better connectivity/coverage sparks the most interest among youth respondents
• Figure 16. Clearly, voice is the leading service among younger respondents, but nearly half also use some type of data service
• Figure 17. Short text messaging easily wins the data race among youth respondents
• Figure 18. Finding friends with location-based services ranks high for many youth respondents
• Figure 19. Motorola and Nokia cell phones are neck and neck among youth respondents considering their next brand
• Figure 20. Most respondents between 18 and 25 pay for their own service
• Figure 21. The mid-tier price range ($100 to $200)
• Figure 22. What respondents want most in the next 12 months is a handset with speaker phone/hands-free or voice-activated dialing