More Malaysians using smartphones

NIELSEN   SMARTPHONE   APPS

Malaysia - Malaysia smartphone penetration rate is at 27% in 1Q of 2012, of which more than a third (36%) are aged 25 to 34, according to the Nielsen 2012 Smartphone Insights study released today.

The study, which surveyed more than 35,000 mobile users in 23 countries, shows that of those who are likely to upgrade their phones in the next six months, four in five (79%) plan to buy a smartphone.

Symbian commanded slightly more than one-third (34%) of market share in terms of smartphone Operating System (OS) brands in 1Q of 2012. But Android finished a close second with 28% of market share, followed by iPhone OS (18%) and Blackberry OS (11%).

Of all OS, Android garnered the highest votes (55%) among users aged 16-24 years for popularity; Android also accounts for more than half (52%) of all smartphones bought in Malaysia within the last six months, putting the OS on a rapid growth trajectory.

In explaining Android's dominance over iPhone in market share, Hanis Harun, global executive director of Nielsen's Telecom Practice, told A+M, "iPhone's strong following in the US is not translated to other countries, especially in Asia. Further, the stronger brands in Asia such as Samsung and HTC are Android-based."

iPhone, however, topped the list for average monthly expenditure, with 34% of iPhone users stated they spent RM150 and above. In terms of number of apps regularly used, iPhone users made use of 31 apps on average compared to 19 for all smartphone users.

The study also found that more than one-third (35%) of smartphone users who bought their phones in the last six months claimed that availability of a wide choice of applications carried the most weight in their choice of model.

Games top the list of most-downloaded applications with more than half (56%) of smartphone users regularly using applications in this category.

"Apps are now critical for marketers in providing content. However, marketers are advised to choose wisely the types of apps they wish to produce. Apps centred on social network, location-based and games generally get a better response," Hanis told A+M.

"Nielsen has found that ads with a social context have a higher efficacy rate, and even more so those that are shared among friends. The same goes for mobile space. Social is the key today," Hanis said.

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