50% of smartphone users in India are under 25 yrs: Nielsen

Indians are increasingly taking to smartphones and the number of such devices in the country touched 40 million last year with almost half of the users younger than 25, says a survey.

The dramatic growth in the usage of smartphones is driven by a desire among users to stay connected and have instant access to social networking sites, according to the survey by research firm Nielsen.

“Decreasing device and data costs, coupled with a wide range of features that today’s smartphones offer, readily encourage consumers to trade in their traditional cell phones for handsets with much more functionality,” the survey said.

According to the Indian smartphone user study – conducted in September and October 2012 across 46 cities – people overwhelmingly prefer mobile devices that operate on the Android operating system.

While Symbian usage is also high in India, Windows, BlackBerry and iOS devices each only have single-digit market shares, said Nielsen Informate Mobile Insights that polled more than 10,000 smartphone owners.

Moreover, tablet ownership among Indians is set to spike as consumer interest in tablets is also on the rise.

While only 3 per cent of respondents who participated in the study in the last quarter of 2012 said they owned a tablet, 11 per cent said they intended to purchase one.

Voice calls and texting accounted for only 25 per cent of smartphone usage; multimedia, games, apps and Internet browsing made up the rest.

Among apps, consumers prefer games, particularly with respect to paid apps. Games were the most popular category among paid apps, with nearly three out of five users (58 per cent) paying for games.

Other popular paid app categories among smartphone users include chat and instant messaging (53 per cent) and streaming music (45 per cent).

Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/50–of-smartphone-users-in-india-are-under-25-yrs-nielsen/1073123/0

Finally, Google’s ‘X Phone’ Takes Real Shape

Bangalore: For the past few weeks, the tech arena has been heating up with rumors of an ultimate Android, Google’s X Phone. Google has finally decided to end the speculations by making clear that the Motorola made X Phone will be announced at its annual Google I/O conference in May.

The details of the forthcoming Google and Motorola initiative got revealed through a 600-page forum, picked up by one of the Internet sites, Droid Life. Even though the X Phone, as known now, would make its formal debut in mid-May at the developer conference, the phone isn’t expected to hit the markets until July 8.

The device caught in the limelight due to its rumored hi specs and its proposed release across all carriers at the same time, unlike the other flagships

As per the reports, the Motorola X Phone will not be considered as a “Nexus” handset and the company ensures to release the product with a few preloaded applications and games. Customers purchasing this model especially through Google Play will have unlocked bootloaders and can uninstall the software, if the rumors prove to be true eventually. Unfortunately, those customers buying through Verizon will have to unlock the bootloader by paying $15 fee monthly.

The Android Smartphone will be offered to “all carriers”, which might include its big four providers or other players as per the reports in the U.S. On account of this, the Verizon model is expected to fetch $299 with a contract, but the other versions could be sold unsubsidized.

There’s sufficient amount of time before Google I/O starts off on May 15. Hence, we can expect a lot more surprises, rumors and reports regarding the details on the X Phone.

iPhone wins 51 percent of U.S. smartphone sales, says report

Apple snared more than 50 percent of U.S. smartphone sales last quarter, says Kantar, though Android remained dominant across Europe and the world.

Apple’s iOS continues to outshine Android, at least in the United States, according to data released today by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech.

For the final quarter of 2012, the iPhone won 51.2 percent of all U.S. smartphone sales. In second place, Android soaked up around 44.8 percent of U.S. sales, leaving Microsoft’s Windows Phone with 2.6 percent.

Apple’s flagship platform also scored well in Japan, proving tops among two-thirds of Japanese smartphone buyers.

“Apple’s continual improvement is thanks to both the iPhone 5 and older models attracting various customer groups, from repeat Apple buyers, first-time smartphone buyers. and those coming from other smartphone brands,” Kantar analyst Mary-Ann Parlato said in a statement.

Over the past year, 36 percent of iOS sales in the U.S. came from users of other smartphones, notably Android. The percentage of Android users jumping ship to the iPhone was 19 percent in 2012, compared with 9 percent in 2011, according to Kantar.

Verizon subscribers were especially eager to hop onto iOS. A full 59 percent of iPhone-buying Verizon customers came from other brand phones, while 30 percent had used Android specifically. In comparison, 15 percent of AT&T users who bought an iPhone jumped from a different platform, while only 6 percent were former Android users.

Among other iPhone buyers, 35 percent upgraded from a previous model, while 30 percent were buying their first smartphone, Kantar said.

Android is still No. 1 throughout the world, including key countries such as the U.K., China, Spain, Australia, and Germany, according to the report. But it’s lost some of its fire.

“At the end of 2012, the global OS picture shows Android on top, but clearly the rate of growth it experienced over the past year is beginning to slow as easy wins from first-time smartphone buyers begin to reduce,” Kantar analyst Dominic Sunnebo said in a statement.

Samsung is tops in the U.K., with 35 percent of smartphone sales last quarter. But Apple is catching up with 32 percent.

Finally, Microsoft’s Windows Phone is gaining some traction in Europe. For the quarter, Windows Phone won 5.9 percent of smartphone sales in Britain, up from 2.2 percent a year ago, and 13.9 percent in Italy, up from 2.8 percent the prior year.

“It has been far slower than Microsoft would have liked, but Windows Phone is now starting to gain respectable shares in a number of key European countries,” Sunnebo said. “However, its performance in the Chinese and U.S. markets remains underwhelming. As the two largest smartphone markets in the world, these remain key challenges for Microsoft to overcome during 2013.”

The data comes from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech USA’s consumer panel, which conducts more than 250,000 interviews per year in the United States. This report focused strictly on sales rather than market share.