Jupiter Research Reports that the Majority of U.S. Consumers are not Interested in Smartphones
(New York, NY - July 22, 2003) - Jupiter Research, a division of Jupitermedia Corporation (Nasdaq: JUPM), found that when choosing a cell phone, U.S. consumers prioritize small size and voice-related functionality over more advanced features such as integrated digital cameras, games, PDAs or music players. Given the choice of a free basic cell phone or paying for a cell phone with a built-in PDA, digital camera or MP3 player (also known as a smartphone) - a choice offered by nearly all U.S. carriers - most U.S. consumers were not willing to pay as little as $49.
These findings were released in Jupiter Research's new report, "Next Generation Handsets: How To Succeed In Wireless Without Really Converging." To make sense of the marketplace, Jupiter Research created a Handset Taxonomy, identifying key attributes that define each device category. "We explored the reasons vendors and carriers are aggressively creating and subsidizing converged devices such as cell phones with built-in cameras, music or computing capabilities. But those reasons have to be measured against actual consumer demand," said Jupiter Research Analyst Avi Greengart.
Jupiter Research conducted an independent survey to assess U.S. consumer demand for advanced cell phone features and to determine their willingness to pay for added functionality at different price points. The new report analyzes the factors that will enable or prevent a dominant mobile platform from emerging and provides actionable advice for handset manufacturers, cellular carriers and application developers. Separate action plans are provided for media, advertisers and retailers dealing with the changing landscape.
"Basic cell phones with voice and text messaging capability will continue to make up the majority of sales, followed by cell phones that can run small Java or BREW applications without overly increasing cell phone size or price," Greengart said. "But cell phones with cameras, MP3 players and/or PDAs will not be widely adopted in the U.S. over the next 12 months," Greengart added. Because interest in converged devices is low, Jupiter Research advises that carriers and handset vendors should create single purpose cell phones, PDAs and MP3 players, and allow them to function as a single unit using Bluetooth wireless technology.
The complete findings of these reports are immediately available to Jupiter Research clients online. For more information please contact Kieran Kelly at researchsales@jupitermedia.com or call 1-800-481-1212.
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