世論 What Japan Thinks

japan.internet.com recently published the results of a survey conducted by JR Tokai Express Research towards the end of February investigating the subject of opinions about mobile phone weight and size. Note for reference that a survey last year found that the most popular by far form factor for phones was the clamshell.

Demographics

Of the 330 people from JR Tokai Express Research’s online monitor pool who completed the survey, 51.2% were male, 25.8% in their twenties, 40.3% in their thirties, 25.5% in their forties, 6.7% in their fifties, and 1.8% in their sixties.

When I pick up a typical Japanese model, to me there just seems to be nothing but a skeleton there. Nothing to hold on to, and I am afraid to squeeze too hard in case they break. I worry too about living with them, perhaps they are all looks and no substance. I feel the same way about modile phones too.

Seriously, I do find most of the DoCoMo 900 series too chunky, but I’m happy with my standard-sized Panasonic P702iD clamsheel. Also note that there are three news phones claiming to be the thinnest in the world, given certain qualifications: the DoCoMo N703iμ and P703iμ are both 11.4mm thick clamshells, and the SoftBank 708SC is an 8.4mm candybar. In addition, the positively obese Motorola MOTORAZR, at 14.9mm, is being promoted quite heavily in Japan.

Research Results

Of the 330 people in the interview, 324, or 98.1%, carried a mobile phone. This is a slightly higher percentage than in other recent surveys, but I suspect this reflects the demographics of JR Tokai Express Research’s monitor panel, which is business traveller biased. These 324 answered the following questions.

Q1: How do you feel about the size or thickness of your current mobile phone? (Sample size=324)

Too big (to SQ)	7.1%
Big (to SQ)	9.0%
A little big (to SQ)	37.3%
Just right	45.1%
Would like a little larger one	1.2%
Would like a much larger one	0.3%

Q1SQ: When do you feel your phone is too big? (Sample size=173, multiple answer)

	Votes	Percentage
When it won’t fit (or barely fits) in a pocket	121	69.9%
When carrying it around	87	50.3%
When exchanging mail	19	11.0%
When talking	15	8.7%
Other	9	5.2%

Regarding almost seven in ten finding problems getting their phone into their pocket, I might suggest that this is caused not by the phone, but by the mass of mascots that the average person seems to attach to their phone!

Note how many more people find the size a problem when not using it rather than when using it.

Q2: What is the ideal size and weight for a mobile phone? (Sample size=324)

Phones with full keyboard (W-ZERO3, etc)	3.1%
High-spec models (One Seg, etc)	10.2%
Current standard clamshells	29.0%
Current compact models	28.7%
Ultra-thin models	21.0%
Straight type	3.7%
Don’t care about the size or weight	3.4%
Other	0.9%