Three quarters would find mobile phone GPS useful
NEPRO Japan recently published the results of a survey that they conducted into mobile phones with GPS functionality. They conducted the respondents by means of an open survey available through the menu systems of the three main phone companies’ web systems, namely DoCoMo’s iMode, Vodafone (now Softbank) live! (which has just changed its name “Yahoo! Keitai”, judging by the advertisements I’ve seen), and au and TU-KA’s EZweb. Over 17 hours during the 7th and 8th of September 3,608 people successfully completed the survey; 58% were female, 2% in their teens, 35% in their twenties, 44% in their thirties, and 19% aged forty or older.
GPS is Global Positioning System, a system for locating where you currently are based on triangulation with satellites. I’ve heard it doesn’t work so well in the shadows of tall buildings or of course underground, so one would think that the use in Japan is rather limited. However, there do seem to be a number of software tools that build around the GPS system, from walking navigation systems to substitutes for car navigation via, of course, keeping track of your children.
Q1: Do you use your mobile phone’s GPS functionality? (Sample size=3,608)
Yes 26% No, but it has the capability 25% No, and it doesn’t have the capability 49% I do not really believe that over 50% of the mobile phones, even of the current models, have GPS functionality available, so I don’t know if the figures above represent people mistakenly answering or if there has been a lot of sample bias.
Q2: Do you think it’s useful that mobile phones have GPS functionality? (Sample size=3,608)
Yes, really useful 29% Yes, a little useful 46% No, not really needed 13% No, not needed at all 4% Don’t know 8% Q3: For what purposes would you like to use a mobile phone with GPS functionality? (Sample size=3,608, multiple answer)
Navigating towards my goal 69% Navigating towards a travel destination 59% Locating safety zones or evacuation zones during disasters 48% Searching for information on nearby public facilities 39% Checking the location or safety of children or old people 39% Replace car navigation system 36% Searching for nearly car parking 24% Work-related navigation functionality 9% Other 7% Q4: What would you worry about when using mobile phone GPS functionality? (Sample size=3,608, multiple answer)
Battery life 69% Transmission or usage fees 69% Infringements of privacy 60% Accuracy of positional information 43% Coverage area 35% Seems difficult to use 15% Other 5%
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Paul Baron said,
October 11, 2006 @ 18:24
About the number of phones in JP that have a GPS chip:
as of summer 2006: 90%+ of AU models since 2004, 3-4 models for DoCoMo and Vodafone (rebranded Softbank as of 1st of Oct.) so it’s unlikely that more than 50% have a GPS chip in their phone, but you must know that DoCoMo and Vodafone still provide local information using cell-tower signal to roughly (400m accuracy at best) identify where you are in Japan and what shops/ restaurants/convenience stores, banks, ramen shops etc… are around you.
Indeed, simple GPS systems will not work well in the shadows of tall buildings, but the systems available in Japanese mobile phones are of course ready for urban action. The precision is surprising, 5m (the maximum commercially available, I think) even in dense areas, because not only is the phone capable of reading GPS satellites broadcasts, but it is also refining its position with the help of the position of the nearby cell towers (using triangulation).
For more details on that: http://www.cdmatech.com/download_library/pdf/gpsone_overview.pdf
To give a nice comparison to those present results, please check NEPRO similar survey in January 2004: http://www.in-duce.net/archives/mobile_phone_gps_useage_in_japan.php
Ken Y-N said,
October 11, 2006 @ 21:08
Paul, thanks for the very detailed info!