Cellphone mastery low in Japan
This is a bit of a short, but sweet, survey conducted by BlogCh into cellphone function ease of use.
Demographics
Between the 25th and 28th of July 2008 547 people (the selection method was not mentioned) completed a survey. 52.3% of the sample were male, 21.1% in their twenties, 45.9% in their thirties, 25.2% in their forties, and 8.8% of other ages.
I liked this survey because one of the selling points of the SoftBank iPhone is the ease of use, which the foreign press often stresses whilst mentioning the difficulty of Japanese cellphone operation. The results here highlight few are really comfortable with their phones. I was surprised by Osaifu Keitai (RFID-based contactless payment) being the hardest to use, as it’s just a touch on the sensor and you’re done. However, I think there is also the aspect of difficulty of understanding what exactly it is mixed in with these results.
Another reason I liked this survey was the use of Japanese to describe the degrees of confidence. I’ll leave them untranslated.
Research results
Q1: Do you think you’ve mastered the functions of your cellphone? (Sample size=547)
All Male
N=286Female
N=261バリバリ (baribari) 120% 4.8% 5.6% 3.8% がっつり (gattsuri) 100% 4.8% 5.6% 3.8% なかなか (nakanaka) 80% 16.3% 14.7% 18.0% そこそこ (sokosoko) 50% 32.5% 34.3% 30.7% ビミョー (bimyou) 30% 27.2% 25.9% 28.7% サッパリ (sappari) 0% 14.4% 14.0% 14.9% Q2: Which of the following functions are difficult? (Sample size=547, multiple answer)
All Male
N=286Female
N=261Osaifu Keitai 39.1% 37.1% 41.4% Applications 30.7% 30.8% 30.7% Music player 26.3% 29.4% 23.0% Internet 16.1% 18.9% 13.0% One Seg television 14.6% 13.3% 16.1% 13.9% 17.1% 10.3% Setting wallpaper, ringtones, etc 11.7% 12.6% 10.7% Voice calling 10.6% 12.2% 8.8% Other 15.2% 14.0% 16.5%
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RMilner said,
August 17, 2008 @ 02:49
I use rental Japanese phones when visiting Japan. The interface is very difficult, even for what should be common, simple functions such as storing and looking up numbers in the address book. The organisation of the interface doesn’t seem to be logical or intuitive.
I should admit I haven’t mastered all the functions of my UK Nokia phone, simply because I’m not interested in them. I expect a lot of Japanese users are in the same category.
I wish it were possible to customise the menu system and remove all the functions and capabilities that will never be used.
BlogD said,
August 17, 2008 @ 11:43
Maybe I’m just slow, but what’s with the 120%?
Isabell said,
August 17, 2008 @ 13:45
120% = you can master not only the functions of your own mobile phone but those of your entire family
David@used computers said,
August 20, 2008 @ 00:14
funny …I never knew you could rent phones in Japan ! lol
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Sophia said,
August 24, 2008 @ 06:31
I can use my phone and everyone elses, but… I’m not sure what to make of this survey since I can’t read some of it… I’m not that good at Japanese yet… TT-TT
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