iPhone – The Irresistible Attraction In China

May 2, 2008 - PRLog -- Beijing - iPhone – The Irresistible Attraction In China

With 1 out of every 10 unlocked iPhones being used here in China, Apple’s “Wunderphone” inevitably become the hottest mobile device of last few months. Its revolutionary design is gaining tremendous popularity among the fashionable here in China.

China Polling has been fielding a Mobile Phone Omnibus survey for the last two months and is following the buying preferences of consumer for their next mobile phone purchases. Unsurprisingly, over 65% have heard of iPhone, and among this group, more than 85% are willing to actually buy an iPhone if it’s available here in China. Obviously, this number indicates a strong demand for the iPhone, but what are the “iPhonephiles” looking for when it comes to making a purchase decision? Findings show that Battery Life, Memory Size, Style/Design are the top features when picking a phone for all consumers. The difference between iPhone lovers and the not yet converted is all about branding. The non iPhone lovers prefer Music and Camera features rather than being wooed and indoctrinated by the hip Apple brand equity.

Features                         iPhone Loverers            Non iPhone Lovers
Battery life                                68.30%            54.80%
Memory size           66.90%            53.10%
Style/Design           59.20%            48.00%
Brand                                58.50%            41.80%
Music features           53.90%            46.30%
Camera features           48.60%            44.10%
Color                                44.40%            36.20%
Video features           41.90%            39.50%
Trendy model           38.00%            36.20%
Size/Tinness           37.00%            29.40%
Send emails E-mail           34.50%            33.30%
View and edit MS office series   
    files/attachment           28.90%   17.50%
(Powered by China Polling Real Time Stats, April 2008)

One of the major attractions of the iPhone is its Internet browsing capabilities; however, fees charge for mobile internet usage is quite high in China. But, it’s surprising that 83.7% of the participants have used their mobile phones to access the internet where the number climbs to 90% for iPhone lovers despite the high cost.
Have you ever used your mobile phone to access to Internet?   

                iPhone Lovers          Non iPhone Lovers
Yes   73.40%                      89.80%
No   26.60%                      10.20%
(Powered by China Polling Real Time Stats, April 2008)

The already existed grey market for selling unlocked iPhones no doubt had certain amount of impact on the mobile phone market. This raises the question for other brands in the market - Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola etc. “What can we do to prevent the risk of losing big market share once iPhone is formally introduced to China?”

Number of Samples: 521
Data Capture Period: 2008.2.1 – 2008.4.9

ChinaPolling conducts Omnibus Surveys on an ongoing basis to provide continuous tracking of consumer trends in China. This innovative approach to tracking consumer behavior will allow companies looking to enter the China market to get the most up to date information about what’s hot and what’s not here in China. The 25 question survey for the Mobile Phone industry answers some very basic question of purchase decision for this very competitive category. All real-time datasets are available to purchase online. Additional questions can be added into the Omnibus Survey and field at any time. For more information please contact Allan Chou at allan@chinapollng.com.

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About China Polling: Founded in 1999 and based in Beijing, China Polling is an online research organization dedicated to providing accurate, dependable and precise consumer data for Internet related businesses, traditional marketing professionals and global advertising agencies. We strive to provide the most comprehensive and trust-worthy information about consumers in China.