世論 What Japan Thinks

The summer seeing the launch of DoCoMo’s new 906 and 706 series, and new ranges from SoftBank and au that don’t fall under a nice name umbrella, and I’ve heard a rumour or two about a new phone from Canada or somewhere made by I think Microsoft and called the zPHune, but perhaps I misheard. Anyway, this survey from goo Research and reported on by japan.internet.com looked at this as part of their 38th regular survey into mobile upgrade needs.

Demographics

Between the 16th and 19th of June 2008 exactly 1,000 mobile phone users from the goo Research monitor panel completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 53.1% of the sample were female, 1.9% in their teens, 15.2% in their twenties, 38.0% in their thirties, 28.6% in their forties, and 16.3% aged fifty or older.

I’ve got no intention of upgrading right now, although when I get round to it (after my winter bonus?) the only important feature will be One Seg digital terrestrial television support, and I’ll be buying a summer model then as they’ll be affordable. However, I’m not sure if I’ll actually watch TV on a mobile, but I’d like to have a phone that gave me the option, just in case.

Research results

Q1: Which carrier do you use? If more than one, choose the one you use the most. (Sample size=1,000)

NTT DoCoMo	49.9%
au by KDDI	28.2%
SoftBank	17.6%
Willcom	4.3%

E-Mobile users were excluded from this survey, but from the next they will be added to the sample.

Q2: Select which of the functions from the list below whose presence or absense is important when upgrading your cellphone. (Sample size=1,000, multiple answer)

	Votes	Percentage
Memory card	344	34.4%
One Seg digital terrestrial television	314	31.4%
Infra-red	233	23.3%
Music playback	220	22.0%
Water, shock resistance	207	20.7%
FeliCa Osaifu Keitai electronic cash	130	13.0%
GPS	129	12.9%
Full browser	117	11.7%
FM radio	78	7.8%
Bluetooth	76	7.6%
Wireless LAN	47	4.7%
Document viewer (Excel, etc)	40	4.0%
AM radio	40	4.0%
Analogue television	30	3.0%
Electronic compass	27	2.7%
Skinnable	21	2.1%
Digital radio	21	2.1%
Other	23	2.3%
None in particular	276	27.6%

Q3: Select which of the services from the list below whose presence or absense is important when upgrading your phone. (Sample size=1,000, multiple answer)

	Votes	Percentage
Unlimited data plan	445	44.5%
Ring tunes (full MP3 quality)	158	15.8%
Ring tones (lower quality)	154	15.4%
Navigation	128	12.8%
Deco Mail (HTML mail)	116	11.6%
International roaming	92	9.2%
Flash support	83	8.3%
Video download	82	8.2%
Push to Talk	7	0.7%
Other	5	0.5%
Nothing in particular	401	40.1%

Q4: Do you plan to buy a summer 2008 cellphone? (Sample size=1,000)

Already bought	1.1%
Plan to buy	5.6%
Want to buy, but no plans	39.9%
Don’t want to buy	39.2%
Don’t know about the summer models	14.2%