Posts tagged percent
53 percent of Indian mobile phone users are victims of mobile theft
Mar 18th
With smartphones becoming an indispensable tool, the imminent need for mobile protection is increasingly important with Indians having their phones lost or stolen an average of 1.5 times over the past five years. This was revealed by a Norton Mobile Survey based on research conducted in January 2011 by The Leading Edge, an independent market research firm, on behalf of Symantec Corporation. The Leading Edge conducted an online survey among 500 adults, between the ages 18 and 54, within each of the following six markets: Singapore, India, Australia, China, Taiwan and Japan.
As annoying as it is to lose their mobile phones, 77 percent of victims considered the loss of contact information the worst part of the experience and also a huge inconvenience. In fact, Indian women would rather get a root canal and the men would rather drink stale milk than lose their mobile phones, the survey revealed. It is therefore not surprising that ‘anger’ was the single most dominant feeling expressed by victims of mobile theft.
Of the affected Indians, one in two was concerned about the exposure or loss of private information, with a whopping 74 percent noting that they could neither remotely lock nor wipe the phone’s memory after it was lost or stolen. This could account for 82 percent finding the process of resolving the situation difficult and 90 percent finding the experience stressful.
Not surprisingly, more than half of the victims said that they were willing to pay a ransom (an average of Rs. 3,692) to resolve the situation. However, in reality victims end up paying nearly three times that amount (an average of Rs. 9,957) to resolve the situation. Despite this almost 3 in 10 Indians said that the situation was never resolved and in cases where it was resolved, 12 percent said that it took more than a week.
Getting help is not entirely straightforward either; despite high levels of inconvenience, adults feel that only a limited number of resources are available to help in such occasions. For most Indians, mobile providers are the main source of contact, followed by family and friends.
“The survey results are clear: mobile phone loss and theft is a significant issue for Indians today. As smartphones become more pervasive in our lives, there is a greater need to protect the data on such devices,” says Gaurav Kanwal, Country Sales Manager, India, Consumer Products and Solutions, Symantec.
The study also found that Indians are more likely to have a password if they currently own a smartphone or have lost their mobile phone or had it stolen in the past. Currently, only 42 percent of users in India have password-protected mobile phones – of which, 61 percent currently own a smartphone and another 50 percent were previously victims of mobile phone loss or theft.
On the whole, a significant number of Indians consider security factors before making a mobile phone purchase. Eighty percent of adults agreed that services such as locking, wiping and locating phones remotely are important; and the same percentage would be likely to purchase software providing such a service.
Indians have some of the highest confidence levels in the region with regard to the use of software services on their mobile phones. Six out of ten Indians are comfortable allowing software on their phones to identify their location, and a similar number are comfortable with online banking. With mobile phones becoming such a central device in the lives of consumers, it is important to protect these devices, especially the data that is stored on such devices.
From informationweek.in
Over 75 Percent of Mobiles Sold Without VAT in India
Mar 14th
Indian tax authorities have conducted raids on mobile phone sellers across New Delhi, discovering evidence of significant levels of tax evasion.
On March 13th the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) released a statement saying that a series of raids have been conducted on several mobile phone retailers around New Delhi who were selling phones which were not properly registered and are considered to be a potential security threat.
According to the CBDT, retailers have been importing mobile phones which do not have the legally required International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI). The devices were predominantly imported from China. No records are made of the phones as they enter the country, and they are sold to consumers with no Value Added Tax (VAT) charge.
The CBDT raided 59 separate retailers across New Delhi, and found evidence of INR 2.3 billion (approx. USD 50.84 million) of unpaid VAT. Tax authorities have already closed the stores of some retailers who were found to be avoiding VAT levies or selling illegal handsets. According to the Indian Cellular Association (ICA) approximately 30 percent of the handset sold in New Delhi are imported from China with no EMEI, and sold with no VAT charge. High-end phones are even more likely to be sold without a VAT levy, with nearly 75 percent of phones costing above INR 10 000 (approx. USD 220) are sold without paying taxes. Customs data shows that nearly 7.3 million phones were imported into India in 2009, through the New Delhi Airport alone, and logistic difficulties mean that it is impossible to verify the EMEI number of each device.
Photo by Daniel*1977
Related Articles:
US Cell Phones Excessively Taxed
India Investigating Illicit Use of Offshore Companies
India to Ease Transfer Pricing Rules
Tax Haven Bridge Sold in UK
India Expanding Gift Tax
From www.taxationinfonews.com
Global Smartphone Sales Rose 72 Percent in 2010, Gartner Says
Feb 9th
Global Smartphone Sales Rose 72 Percent in 2010, Gartner Says February 09, 2011, 3:27 AM EST
By Diana ben-Aaron
Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) — Smartphone sales gained 72 percent last year, helping propel the worldwide mobile-phone market to 1.6 billion units, researcher Gartner Inc. said.
Research in Motion Ltd. and Apple Inc. became the fourth- and fifth-biggest mobile-phone companies, displacing Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB and the business now known as Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc., Stamford, Connecticut-based Gartner said today in an e-mailed report.
Handsets with Google Inc.’s Android software overtook Nokia’s sales of Symbian smartphones in the fourth quarter, Gartner said. Symbian remained the best-selling smartphone system overall as other manufacturers also have it on their devices, the researcher said. Nokia, which remained the biggest mobile-phone vendor, saw its market share drop to 28.9 percent from 36.4 percent in 2009. Gartner reports sales to end users.
“The decline is not solely attributable to Nokia’s continuing deficiency in high-end devices but is in part the result of the growth of legitimate white-box sales,” Carolina Milanesi, a Gartner analyst in Egham, U.K, said in the report.
So-called white box manufacturers, based mainly in China, produce small runs of mobile phones from standard components without the benefit of a major brand. White-box phones have expanded from the black market and informal channels to regular phone retailers, where they now sell in significant numbers and are tracked by researchers. Sales by such vendors reached 360 million units last year, Gartner said.
About half of all phones sold in western Europe and North America in the fourth quarter were smartphones, Gartner said. Android sales increased more than ninefold during the year.
Apple’s IPhone
Apple’s iPhone is now available from multiple operators in many markets, totaling 185 phone companies worldwide, Gartner said. Competition has reduced the price of data plans, though the selling price of the device is stable, according to the analysts.
“Apple is not targeting the mass market, which is a fundamental difference in approach from Android,” Gartner analysts said in the report.
South Korean mobile-phone makers, Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc., ranked second and third, respectively, on Gartner’s list.
–Editors: Vidya Root, Robert Valpuesta
To contact the reporter on this story: Diana ben-Aaron in Helsinki at dbenaaron1@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Vidya Root in Paris at vroot@bloomberg.net.
From www.businessweek.com
Mobile Phone Market Leaps Record 18 Percent: Report
Jan 28th
Eliot Van Buskirk 
- Mobile Phone Market Leaps Record 18 Percent: Report
- How and Why Every Song Can Be an App
- Midem Music Hacks Part Two: Trump Cards, Imogen Heap, Data-Driven Album Art and More
These days, everyone seems to have a smartphone or, at the very least, what the industry calls a “feature phone,” whose main “feature” appears to be an inability to install apps.
Nonetheless, people all over the world purchased new phones at a record-breaking clip during last three months of 2010.
The worldwide mobile phone market surged 17.9 percent last quarter according to a report issued on Friday by the analysis firm IDC, marking the biggest quarterly increase ever documented by the firm. Overall, cellphone shipments grew 18.5 percent in 2010, the largest annual increase in four years.
Why did vendors ship so many new phones in 2010, particularly at the end of the year, when in 2009, new cellphone shipments actually sank?
IDC points to a stronger worldwide economy as well as “a wider array of increasingly affordable smartphones” as the reason for this. “Increasingly affordable smartphones” sounds a lot like “Android smartphones” to us, and indeed, much of this growth was driven by Android phones, according to an earlier Nielsen study.
Android still lags considerably behind the iPhone when it comes to apps. But given the herd-like nature of the smartphone market — and the fact that Google reportedly plans to launch a web-accessible, centralized version of the Android Marketplace — Android could catch up in the apps department the same way it has in hardware.
Regardless, the entire sector is booming, largely due to customers snapping up app-running smartphones.
“The mobile phone market has the wind behind its sails,” said Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst with IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker. “Mobile phone users are eager to swap out older devices for ones that handle data as well as voice, which is driving growth and replacement cycles.”
Smartphones will continue to drive the worldwide mobile phone market until at least 2014, according to IDC, which expects smartphone shipments to increase 43.7 percent this year over 2010. Many of these purchases will represent upgrades from previous smartphones, and Android users are as likely as iPhone users to stick with their current platform according to eMarketer, which also found that more and more of you will choose Android over the coming years, with Android’s market share eclipsing that of the iPhone by 2012.
“The open-source Android OS requires no licensing fee, and allows handset manufacturers and wireless carriers considerable latitude to customize the user interface according to their desired specifications,” said eMarketer principle analyst Noah Elkin. “With a growing roster of manufacturer and carrier partners in every major market and market segment, scale for Android is coming quickly in terms of device, market share, apps and ad revenues.”
As boring as market predictions can be, these ones have a special resonance for smartphone users, who benefit when their platform becomes more popular. If more people use your type of smartphone, that platform will draw more app developers, improving the phone even after you buy it.
From www.businessinsider.com
Smartphones ‘account for 75 percent of mobile phone sales’
Jan 19th
Smartphones ‘account for 75 percent of mobile phone sales’
Smartphones with Google’s Android service sold more than iPhones last year, according to the Carphone Warehouse.
The mobile phone provider has released figures which show that 75% of the phones it sold in the last quarter of 2010 were smartphones.
This was an increase on the usual figures of around 50-60%.
Carphone Warehouse’s Chief Executive Roger Taylor told the Guardian: “At some point in 2010 the Android overtook every other operating platform.”
He added that he expected smartphones to move into the pay-as-you-go market this year, as currently they are only available on pre-pay contracts.
This news echoes recent findings by the International Data Corporation which suggested that smartphone sales had increased by almost 90% in the last year.
And another survey by PC World revealed just how dependent Brits are on their mobile phones, as smartphones offer users the opportunity to surf the internet whenever they like.
The research revealed that half of people admit to taking their mobile phone into the bath with them.
Posted by Ruth Bradshaw
From www.uswitch.com
Mobile tweets now over 40 percent of Twitter posts
Jan 11th
More than 40 percent of all Twitter posts now originate via mobile phone, up from 25 percent a year ago, according to the microblogging kingpin’s CEO Dick Costolo. “Fifty percent of active users are also active on mobile,” Costolo told MarketingWeek during an interview at last week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, crediting the growth to the launch of official Twitter clients for the iPhone, Android and BlackBerry platforms.
Costolo added that many users tweet about their favorite television programs during the show’s broadcast: “It’s definitely the case that network TV people like Twitter because it gives them feedback, like they’re in the theater watching how the shows play out,” he said. “When Glee starts, tweets per second for Glee shoot up and stay up 100 times that level until the show ends, then they drop.” Twitter has been in talks with network executives to develop products specifically to leverage the trend.
Twitter now boasts more than 175 million registered users worldwide. According to Costolo, users have sent 25 billion tweets over the past 12 months, with more than 100 million new registered accounts signing on during the same period. Twitter is now valued at $3.7 billion after closing a $200 million funding round led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in mid-December.
For more:
- read this MarketingWeek article
Related articles:
Twitter valuation rises to $3.7 billion
Twitter bolsters iPhone app with push notifications
Twitter mobile usage up 62 percent
Twitter bans third-party advertising alternatives
Twitter unveils Promoted Tweets ad effort
From www.fiercemobilecontent.com
Egypt’s Orascom Telecom sees 400 percent surge in NKorea mobile phone subscribers
Nov 8th
Article Tools
Story Tools 
CAIRO (AP) – Mobile phone service subscriptions in Orascom Telecom’s North Korean joint venture climbed over 400 percent in the 12-month period ending September 2009, the Egyptian telecom giant said, as it pushes ahead with coverage plans in the reclusive communist nation.
Cairo-based Orascom Telecom, which operates an advanced 3G telephone service network in North Korea, also said its service now covered 75 percent of the country’s population. Network coverage was extended over the third quarter of 2010 to reach a total of 12 main cities, including Pyongyang, 42 small cities and 22 highways and railways, OT said.
It planned to extend coverage to over 90 percent of the population by the year’s end, the company said in a quarterly statement released late Sunday.
Total subscribers with koryolink, the network OT jointly operates in the country, climbed to 301,199 by the end of the third quarter of 2010, a major increase to the slightly over 69,000 subscribers at the end of September 2009.
The launch of the 3G network in the north in late 2008 was seen as a milestone moment in a country where private cell phone ownership was banned and information is tightly controlled. Analysts had expected that the service would largely be restricted to North Korea’s political elite and limited to the capital.
But Orascom said koryolink had expanded across the country, and that there was a “steady increase in voice and SMS usage that took place over the last three quarters.”
Overall, OT’s net income across its global operations climbed to $934 million in the third quarter of 2010, boosted by a one-off gain from its Egyptian unit, Mobinil, which it jointly operates with France Telecom. Factoring out that gain, net profit stood at $112 million.
OT said koryolink had launched a video calling service that “resulted in a high level of demand, especially from the youth segment.” In addition, the subsidiary had set up two new shops in Pyongyang and one more outside the capital, raising the total number of direct and indirect sales outlets to 26 in eight cities.
OT operates GSM networks in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. The company — which is in the midst of a deal with Russia’s Vimpelcom that would create the world’s fifth largest mobile phone operator by subscribers — said its total subscribers had climbed to slightly over 100 million by the end of the third quarter of this year.
But Vimpelcom deal may be complicated by OT’s troubles with Algeria over its subsidiary in that country.
Algerian authorities claim that Orascom’s Djezzy subsidiary owes hundreds of millions in back taxes, a claim OT denies. Algeria has also indicated it will buy Djezzy, an announcement it made after it had blocked an earlier attempt by OT to sell assets to South Africa’s MTN Group.
28 percent of US mobile phone users have smartphones
Nov 3rd
According to the latest figures from Nielsen, 28 percent of U.S. mobile phone owners own smartphones, as of the Q3 2010. The strong growth was attributed mainly to an explosion in iPhone and Android device sales.
While all data firms release different numbers for the same data, the consensus is clear. RIM still leads the market, with Apple a close second. Android, seeing incredible growth, continues to take share.
For the quarter, RIM controlled 30 percent of the U.S. market for smartphones, followed by the iPhone at 28 percent. Android has moved to 19 percent share.
Getting into interesting demographics, RIM had the most users over the age of 45, while Apple had the most under 45. Over 50 percent of Android users were under 35 years of age.
Over the past six months, 41 percent of all new phone buyers are choosing to purchase smartphones, a six percent increase from the six month period before it.
Seven percent of cell phone users make video calls
Oct 14th
Video calling has never been something that has intrigued me in the least, but that isn’t so for one out of every five Americans. According to Pew Internet & American Life Project, 19% of all Americans have tried video calls via the Internet or mobile phone. That’s nothing jaw-dropping or extremely impressive as nearly every household in America has a computer with a built-in webcam. The amazing stat is that 7% of all cell phone users in America have tried video calling from their device.
7% isn’t exactly a high figure, but considering that video calling has only been available in America for a few months (June to be exact), that’s pretty impressive. This also isn’t a figure of how many people call regularly, just how many people have tried it. Thanks to phones like the Epic 4G, iPhone 4, and EVO 4G, mobile video calling has been made a fairly common thing and we’re only going to see more and more of it in the coming years. Here are some takeaways from the data as given by Mashable’s Christina Warren:
- As with online video calls, higher-income households had more experience with video calling. Around 10% of users with a household income of over $75,000 a year had experience with mobile phone video calls, as opposed to 4% of users with a household income of under $30,000 a year.
- Likewise, younger users are more likely to have used mobile phone video calling; 9% and 8% of respondents age 18 to 29 and 30 to 39 had experience with mobile phone video calls, as compared with 4% and 3% for older age groups.
- The male-female split was about the same. Roughly 8% of males responded that they had experience with video calls on mobile devices, compared to 6% of female users
To view the tables and more of the raw data, head on over to the source link. How many of you guys video call? Is it intuitive, or is it just easier to voice call/text message? What do you think will come of video calling in the coming years?
Via Mashable (Image via SlashGear)
Pew: 29 percent of cell phone owners have downloaded apps
Sep 16th
The Pew Internet and American Life project finds that only 29 percent of cell phone owners have downloaded apps…and only 13 percent have paid for them.
These days, the mobile industry seems focused on little more than mobile phone apps, as enormous numbers of companies and developers seek to monetize mobile Internet capabilities and increasingly sophisticated devices by offering programs, games, utilities, and Internet-based add-ons for phones. However, a new report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project finds that only 29 percent of U.S. adults have downloaded apps to their phones, and only 13 percent have actually paid to download apps. Moreover, while 35 percent of U.S. adults have apps on their phones, fewer than 24 percent actually use them.
“An apps culture is clearly emerging among some cell phone users, particularly men and young adults,” said Pew Internet associate director Kristen Purcell, in a statement. “Still, it is clear that this is the early stage of adoption when many cell owners do not know what their phone can do. The apps market seems somewhat ahead of a majority of adult cell phone users.”
The survey covered a sample of 1,917 cellphone-using adults and asked if they used phone apps and, if so, how. The results found that about 38 percent of adult cell phone owners bought a phone with apps pre-installed, and some 29 percent of adult cell phone owners have downloaded applications to their phones. HOwever, only about two thirds of folks with apps actually use them, which means that just under one quarter (24 percent) of U.S. adults use phone apps. And, as one might expect, app usage varies with Age: older adults are far less likely to use apps. And just to make U.S. adults seem even more clueless, Pew notes that fully one in ten cell phone owners don’t know if their phones have apps.
Overall, the survey found the mobile app users are more likely to be young, educated, and affluent; furthermore, the app using population also skews male and Hispanic, compared the broader U.S. adult population.
So how do people use their phones? For almost everything but apps, according to the report. Adult cell phone users reported taking pictures and sending/receiving text messages were by far the most common non-voice uses of their phones, with 76 and 72 percent usership rates, respectively. Farther down the scale, 38 percent said their accessed the Internet, 34 percent said they played games, handled email, or recorded video. Some 33 percent said they played music on their phones, and 30 percent engages in instant messaging. Next, at 29 percent, came apps.
