世論 What Japan Thinks

It’s time for another installment of the goo Research mobile phone upgrade needs survey, the 41st in the series of monthly looks at people’s upgrade plans. This time one question looks at the Autumn and Winter 2008 models, with all three major carriers having just released, or being in the process of releasing, new models.

Demographics

Between the 11th and 14th of November 2008 exactly 1,000 members of the goo Research online monitor pool completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 52.2% of the sample were female, 1.1% in their teens. 18.9% in their twenties. 38.3% in their thirties, 25.2% in their forties, and 16.5% aged fifty or older.

In Q1 it is interesting to note that SoftBank is down a couple of percentage points compared to the average level reported, however this might just be a sampling blip for this survey.

I currently have no plans to upgrade, although on Sunday I might look at a shop I know that should be selling this summer’s models at knock-down prices as most of the new phones from docomo are minor cosmetic revisions of the summer phones; Panasonic has added a two-way keyboard to go from a P906i to a P01-A, Sharp an 8 megapixel camera differentiating their SH-01A from the SH906i, and NEC have a fancy ball joint on their N-01A.

I have my eye on the Sharp SH-04A smartphone, not out until February or March 2009, as I was tempted to jump ship to Willcom for their Sharp 03 earlier this year. However, I’ll have to wait and see how they price it, but I’m not terribly hopeful of getting a decent deal.

Research results

Q1: Who is your current mobile phone service provider? (Sample size=1,000)

NTT docomo	49.3%
au by KDDI	27.8%
SoftBank	18.1%
Willcom	4.1%
E-Mobile	0.7%

Q2: About what resolution of camera is needed on a mobile phone? (Sample size=1,000)

4 megapixels or more	27.3%
Around 3 megapixels	27.6%
Around 2 megapixels	23.6%
Around 1 megapixels	10.6%
Around 310,000 pixels	1.6%
Around 110,000 pixels	0.8%
Don’t need a camera	8.5%

Q3: Which of the following main display-related points are you particular about? (Sample size=1,000, multiple answer)

Size	60.7%
Resolution	44.4%
Readable even in sunlight	34.9%
Vivid colour reproduction	24.5%
Difficult to get dirty	23.1%
Bright backlight	22.4%
Clear fonts	21.7%
Size of area available for wallpaper	12.1%
Flexibility in adjusting backlight setting, etc	11.2%
Not bothered about main display features	11.4%

Q4: Do you plan to upgrade to a new Autumn/Winter 2008 model? (Sample size=1,000)

Already bought	0.8%
Have plan to buy	5.2%
Want to buy, but no definite plans yet	36.3%
Don’t want to buy	40.8%
Didn’t know the autumn and winter 2008 models were out	16.9%