Indian mobile customers prefer Android smartphones over iPhone: Survey

Know Your Mobile has released its first KYM India User Survey 2011 in partnership with Demographix. Based on an online survey conducted between May to August 2011 the survey provides insight into the changing consumer preference in selection of mobile phones and latest trends in the smartphone and tablet trends.
 
Android OS/ phone favored over other platforms

According to the Know Your Mobile India survey, Indian consumers are most likely to buy an Android phone as their next phone. About 50 percent of the respondents indicated their next purchase would be an Android phone while only 35 percent of users displayed interest in buying an iPhone. While Apple products are immensely popular worldwide, in India the delayed launches of Apple products coupled with pricey tag has made them less desirable. However this trend could change with the arrival of the rumored budget iPhone 4 with 8GB memory.

According to the survey about 87 percent of the respondents stated operating system as the key driver for mobile selection. It was followed by internet browsing capabilities and high-resolution camera. Interestingly while price is generally seen as a dominant feature among the budget conscious Indian mobile users, it was not the deciding factor for selecting a mobile phone. This insensitivity towards price indicates a changing mindset of the mobile users, geared more towards the right products as opposed to cheap products. Package deals like free minutes, SIM, radio and multi-SIM functionalities also didn’t factor among the desired phone features.

 Also nearly 30 percent of the respondent upgraded to new mobile at least once a year. This purchasing behavior can be attributed to the increase in the number of pocket friendly mobile phones arriving in the market. One the other hand the choice of telecom operator was largely governed by the network coverage, followed by internet data capacity allowance and user’s personal experience with the brand.

Nokia losing ground in India

According to the survey 50 percent of the respondents stated that they currently own a Nokia mobile phone. However only 4 percent expressed a desire to purchase a Nokia phone again. Once a dominant player in the Indian market, Nokia has been gradually losing its foothold in India as well as worldwide. The Finnish giant has been gearing up and working towards rebranding its image. The company is leaving behind Symbian, one of the major mobile operating systems before Android and iOS and is taking up WP7 as its primary operating system. With Google’s Motorola take over, rumors regarding a possible Nokia-Microsoft tie up have been doing rounds on the internet too.

Tablet Market

From being a prized possession only a few could afford, the tablet market in India is gradually adjusting itself to suit the budget tablet lovers in the country. Several companies like Spice, Reliance, Beetel, LACS, EAFT among others have rolled out price effective devices. Seeing this trend it does not come as a surprise that 90 percent of the respondents stated that they are likely to buy a tablet next.

Purchasing Behavior

Even though online shopping portals are rising in popularity, the survey indicates that 30 percent preferred to buy mobile phones from an organized retail store such as Croma, Nokia priority, The Mobile Store with only 13 percent opting to purchase mobile phones over the internet.

Key Findings

 Operating System is most important criteria for selecting a mobile phone (87%)

50% of KYM India users would like to buy an Android phone while 35% of users would like to buy an iPhone as their next phone

50 % of KYM India users currently own a Nokia phone. Only 4% of users would like to have Nokia phone as their next mobile phone

90% of KYM India users would like to buy a Tablet

Network coverage topped the list for selecting a Telecom operator (89%)

93% of the users pass on advice and recommendations to others including their friends and family regarding mobile phones.