More consumers opting for smartphones

More consumers opting for smartphones
Popularity due to increasing mobile use of the Internet, and tie-in sales of phones

Smartphones are increasingly popular among consumers, as more people use their mobile phones to browse the Internet. This is revealed by a DNA study on the use of smartphones*.

A recent DNA customer panel survey indicates that smartphones are becoming more popular on the mobile phone market. More than 50 per cent of respondents said they own a smartphone and around one third of those who didn’t were intending to acquire one.

The increasing popularity of smartphones is also being witnessed by DNA Stores, where more than one third of phones sold are smartphones. According to the survey, the majority of consumers are ready to pay 100 to 300 euros for a smartphone. One reason for the pick-up in smartphone sales may be the hire-purchase option offered by operators in tie-in sales of phones with subscriptions.

‘Smartphone sales are rising and new phones are complementing our range on a monthly basis. Smartphones are available in all price categories, the most affordable touch-screen smartphone costing one euro per month when sold with a subscription. However, many consumers opt for a slightly more expensive phone in order to achieve higher value for money, since the camera or display is better. For instance, this makes surfing the Web much easier’, says Sami Aavikko , Managing Director, DNA Store Ltd.

The most popular application: the Internet

Mobile use of the Internet is increasing: over 40 per cent of respondents to the survey said that they browse the Internet with their mobile phone. Of these, 50 per cent browsed on a daily and 25 per cent on a weekly basis. Approximately one half of respondents estimated that they would browse the Internet with their mobile phone more frequently within the year.

Most mobile users of the Internet read e-mails, news and weather forecasts, or browse timetables. The most popular sites were Facebook, You Tube and Google.

In the respondents’ opinion, mobile use of the Internet is not always effortless: half of those accessing the Internet with a mobile phone had found this challenging. The most common problems mentioned were low data transfer speeds, the small size of the mobile phone display, the unsuitability of sites for mobile phone use, and the user’s personal capabilities.

*) This summer, DNA surveyed the use of smartphones among its customers. A total of 1,050 clients responded to the customer panel survey. DNA uses its customer panels regularly to study, for instance, the telecom business, various phenomena and customer relationships.

For further information, please contact:

Sami Aavikko, Managing Director, DNA Store Ltd, tel. +358 44 044 3069, sami.aavikko(a)dna.fi

DNA Corporate Communications: tel. +358 (0)44 044 8000, viestinta(a)dna.fi

DNA Ltd is a Finnish telecommunications company providing high-quality, state-of-the-art voice, data and mobile communications and TV services to private customers, organisations and corporations. DNA Group's turnover was EUR 652 million and profit excluding nonrecurring items EUR 63 million in 2009. DNA has more than 3 million mobile and fixed-line network customers. For further information, visit www.dna.fi .