世論 What Japan Thinks

Over five days at the start of October MyVoice surveyed 12,563 members of their online monitor panel by means of a private internet-based questionnaire on the subject of video calling from mobile phones. The sample was 54% female, 3% in their teens, 21% in their twenties, 39% in their thirties, 25% in their forties, and 12% in their fifties.

My new phone has video calling facilities, but I think I’d be too shy to use it more than just once for the novelty value. I can think of perhaps times when I’m searching for something in the shops and if I phoned up my wife she could help steer me towards the required goods, but one problem in large shops is that there is often no signal, and anyway just sending a photograph may suffice.

Advertising seems to have dropped video calling as a selling point – it’s mostly music, One Seg, and the seemingly doomed Push To Talk that get most publicity time.

Q1: What kind of mobile phone do you currently use the most? (Sample size=12,563)

DoCoMo FOMA	29.0%
DoCoMo mova	15.1%
Other DoCoMo	0.8%
au WIN	13.5%
au CDMA1X	9.8%
Other au	2.3%
Softbank (ex Vodafone) 3G	6.0
Softbank (ex Vodafone) non-3G	13.4%
Other company	3.2%
Don’t have a mobile phone	7.0%

Note that the networks for DoCoMo FOMA, Softbank 3G and au WIN all support video calling, and most, but not all, of the handsets for these networks have video calling features.

Q2: Do you have video calling features on your mobile phone in Q1? (Sample size=those with mobile phones)

Yes, and currently use it	4.4%
Yes, and used to use it but don’t now	3.5%
Yes, but almost never use it	21.8%
No, but want to use it	25.8%
No, and don’t think I want to use it in the future	44.3%
No answer	0.2%

Q3: When do (would) you use video calling? (Sample size=those using or wanting to use video calls, multiple answer)

When talking to distant family and friends	47.4%
When talking to intimate friends	38.0%
When wanting to show people where I am, or see where others are	30.9%
When wanting to check if children, old people, pets, etc are safe	19.9%
When talking to close at hand family and friends	15.7%
When getting remote diagnosis from a doctor, etc	4.9%
When doing work related meetings, study, etc	3.9%
When doing distance learning for languages, etc	3.6%
Other	2.9%
No answer	17.1%

Q4: Why don’t you use video calling? (Sample size=those who don’t use video calls, multiple answer)

Don’t feel it’s necessary to see faces during phone calls	61.4%
Calling fees are high	50.5%
May use up the battery	29.0%
Almost never make voice calls, usually email	28.1%
Not keen or embarrassed about showing my face	24.4%
Few of my friends have video-capable phones	19.8%
It would be regrettable if the person on the other side was in a situation where they couldn’t receive a video call	15.8%
Wouldn’t want to show where I currently was	12.0%
Picture quality is rather poor	8.7%
Don’t know how to use it	4.6%
Other	3.7%
No answer	2.2%

Q5: If the cost of video calling was the same as standard voice calls, would you use video calling (or would your use increase)? (Sample size=12,563)

Yes, use (yes, increase)	41.2%
Wouldn’t change from now	28.7%
Wouldn’t use	28.8%
No answer	1.3%

Q6: When you next upgrade your phone, will you choose one with video calling features? (Sample size=12,563)

Yes, definitely	12.0%
Not bothered whether or not it present	70.7%
Specifically no	16.2%
No answer	1.1%

Q7: What features would you like to see for video phones? (Sample size=12,563)

Can remotely view pets or children	33.1%
Can switch mid-call between voice-only and video	19.5%
Can video call simultaneously to multiple people	15.9%
Can view video contents on video phone display	14.2%
Can send text messages during video calls	11.3%
Can use animated character, etc instead of my face	10.9%
Can use roaming overseas	5.7%
Other	1.8%
Don’t know or nothing in particular	38.3%
No answer	0.9%