“A real digital era.”, “The age of high speed internet connection.”, “Video phone calls” and “Substitute for notebook PCs” are common perceptions of the 3G services among Chinese consumers (results from the most recent China Polling National 3G Study).  With the rising expectation of 3G, China Polling has surveyed 406 consumers around the country to find out what they really want from 3G phones and services.

Among participants, 53.2% showed strong interest in 3G phones including those who are already using them and those planning to purchase.  The rest at 43.6% also showed interest and willingness to learn more about 3G phones and service.  Detailed information regarding 3G phone features, services and fees are their most want to know areas of the new standard.  Only 3.2% showed no interest in buying 3G phones.

Powered by China Polling Real Time Stats, May 2009

When asked about the timing of purchase, 90% stated that they would purchase within a year.  Whereas 10.7% would purchase within a month, 26% would purchase within 3 months, 27.8% would purchase within 6 months and the rest 27.2% would purchase in a year.

The most important aspects for consumers when choosing a 3G phone are Features & Applications and Brand.  Top 3 features are Internet connection & speed, Smart operating system and Screen Quality.

Powered by China Polling Real Time Stats, May 2009

In terms of the preferred operating system, 70.2% picked Windows Mobile, followed by Symbian which is 10.7%.  The most popular applications are High-speed internet connection, Video phone calls and High-speed MMS sending including video or audio.

Powered by China Polling Real Time Stats, May 2009

China Mobile’s TD-SCDMA is the most popular service providers in the survey (62.8%), followed by Unicom’s WCDMA (17.7%) and China Telecom’s CDMA2000 (15.3%).  This mainly du to major marketing efforts on the part of China Mobile to rolled out 3G, and it also demonstrates the brand popularity and loyalty achieved by China’s number one mobile service provider.

Number of Samples: 406
Data Capture Period: 2009.3.2 – 2009.5.19
China Polling conducts Omnibus Surveys on an ongoing basis to provide continuous tracking of consumer trends in China.  This innovative approach to tracking consumer behavior will allow companies looking to enter the China market to get the most up to date information about what’s hot and what’s not here in China.  All real-time datasets are available for purchase online.  Additional questions can be added into the Omnibus Survey and fielded at any time.

2009, is the year of 3G in China.  With the issuance of official 3G licenses, three local telecom giants China Mobile (TD-SCDMA), China Unicom (WCDMA) and China Telecom (CDMA2000) are all now geared up to roll out the massive development plan for local 3G services.  The growing demand for 3G phones and rising competition are all main drivers for a promising future for 3G phones manufacturers.  However, the stability of signals, costs of using 3G services and which new 3G handset to buy are just some of the key concerns voiced by consumers.  What are consumers’ perceptions toward 3G?  What are the key factors that will most likely influence their purchase decisions?  And, what are their level of interest in buying a 3G phone?  China Polling has launched a national survey to help us to understand all of the above questions and much more.

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Understanding consumer preferences when it comes to buying a new mobile phones is definitely the million dollar (or billions of RMB) question for manufacturers here in China. Many have put lots of efforts into developing new designs and technology to meet the fast pace consumer demand for newer phones here. So coming up with the perfect phone is fierce competition here in China’s mobile phone market. In a recent national study conducted by ChinaPolling, consumers were asked questions regarding their purchase preferences for mobile phones including their purchase frequencies, types of mobile phone they want to purchase next and their budget. The stats show that the majority (36%) of the mobile phone owners would change their mobile phone within 1 year. When it comes to the actual time they would purchase their next phone, 36% of the consumers responded that they plan to purchase a new mobile phone within next 3 months.

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