Published: August 30, 2010
Strategy Analytics: Cheap Mobile Phones Aren't the Whole Story in Emerging Markets
BOSTON - (BUSINESS WIRE) - In depth interviews with low-income first-time mobile phone owners in
Manila show that basic no-frills phones will meet the needs of some
emerging market consumers, but others want more features - and will pay
for them. "Voices
of the Next Billion: Mobile Adoption at the Bottom of the Pyramid,"
a new report from the Strategy Analytics Emerging Markets Communications
Strategies service (EMCS), introduces a set of consumers for whom the
ultra low cost handset (ULCH) is not necessarily the only viable
offering, despite limited spending power.
With household incomes of $ 200 a month or less, these consumers fall
well below the median for metropolitan Manila. "They obviously do not
have a lot of money to spare," notes Tom Elliott, Director of EMCS and
author of the
study. "But if they want an international brand or a phone with a
camera to take pictures of their children, they will find a way to get
one." Buying second-hand phones or using informal installment payment
plans are two reported ways to bring phone costs down to an acceptable
level.
"Low income consumers in developing countries may not be good candidates
for smartphones, but it would be a mistake to think that they are not
prospects for 'affordable luxury' features like MP3 players and
megapixel cameras," according to Kevin Nolan, Vice President of the
Strategy Analytics User Experience Practice, who advised on this
research.
About Strategy Analytics
Strategy Analytics, Inc. provides timely and actionable market
intelligence focused on opportunities and disruptive forces in the areas
of Automotive Electronics and Entertainment, Broadband Connected Home,
Mobile & Wireless Intelligent Systems and Virtual Worlds. Headquartered
in Boston, MA, with offices in the UK, France, Germany, Japan, S. Korea
and China, Strategy Analytics works with clients through annual
multi-client services, management team workshops and custom consulting
engagements. For more information, please visit http://www.strategyanalytics.com/
Strategy Analytics, Inc.
US Contact:
Tom Elliott, +1
617-614-0700
telliott@strategyanalytics.com
or
Asian
Contact:
Rahul Gupta, +44(0) 1908 423 639
rgupta@strategyanalytics.com
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