Hooked on smartphones

So it's just Singapore which is "iPhone crazy". For the rest of the world, smartphone sales make up just 20% of mobile phone sales! Hard to imagine that in Singapore, 9 out of 10 people own a smartphone, and 50% out of the 9 owned an iPhone. Then again, when I step into the bus/MRT, seeing is believing!

I suspect I will remain in the 10% bracket who will never, ever switch to a smartphone.....

Apr 19, 2011
Hooked on smartphones
They make up 90% of all handsets sold in Singapore, compared to 20% globally
By Chua Hian Hou , Technology Correspondent

SINGAPOREANS' love affair with the smartphone has hit new heights.

These do-everything gadgets, which enable their users to check e-mail, consult road maps and play 3-D games on the move, now make up 90 per cent of all handsets sold here.

Just six months ago, the figure was 80 per cent, making tech-mad Singaporeans among the world's most ardent fans of these mobile computers, which pack in advanced computer processors, generous memory and touchscreen displays.

Globally, smartphones account for only 20 per cent of new-phone sales, far behind that for lower-end type cellphones, said research firm Gartner.

Smartphones are popular here because of the maturity of the Singapore consumer market, said regional account director for telecommunications Gerard Tan of research firm GfK.

'With Singapore being the most developed country in South-east Asia, its rate of smartphone adoption will tend to rise faster than in less-developed countries,' he said.

Among the dozens of smartphone models available, the grand-daddy of them all is the Apple iPhone, which, despite its hefty price tag, has trumped other brands in popularity for several years now.

A senior telco industry executive, speaking anonymously because of Apple's strict non-disclosure agreements with telcos, said the two iPhone models now available, the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4, command a 40 per cent to 50 per cent market share among new smartphones.

Singaporeans love their iPhones so much that the island has come to be nicknamed 'iPhone nation' in regional telecommunications circles.

Smartphones using Google's Android software are also doing well, said Mr Tan.

He estimates that sales of Android smartphones, made by companies like Samsung, HTC and Motorola, have grown tenfold from a year ago and will continue to do well here.

'Major manufacturers have been launching a variety of new smartphone models on Android since early last year; the strong push from these major brands has inevitably helped to increase the take-up of Android smartphones in South-east Asia,' he said.

Despite the trend towards smartphones, however, lower-end, no-frills handsets are in no danger of extinction.

These phones, which the industry calls 'feature phones', do little more than make calls and send and receive text messages, but are beloved by many die-hard users despite their inability to run applications for games, maps and other capabilities.

At a briefing last week, M1's chief executive Karen Kooi said that 10 per cent of cellphone users 'will never, ever switch over to smartphones'.

Take administrative assistant Yvonne Lim, 42, for example. When she recontracted her cellphone account in January, she received a new smartphone for free. 'But I couldn't get used to it, especially the touchscreen and the need to keep charging the battery,' she said.

Smartphones, with their more powerful chips and power-hungry touchscreen displays, generally run down on juice in a day on a full charge. Feature phones, by contrast, can run as long as five days before they need to be recharged.

Ms Lim said: 'In the end, I went back to my old phone, which I was quite happy with anyway.'

The smartphone is now used by her delighted teenage nephew.

chuahh@sph.com.sg

SG is also one of the few places where you can make full use of your smart phone anywhere... almost ;p

I would switch as well, if my company allows camera phones into the workplace..i

Ah Jon-san, your workplace too?
For me, I wouldn't switch even if my current workplace allows it. I just don't see the added benefits of playing games or any other stuff that most people use smartphones for.

If I were in a different line, that's a different story, I see some potential in using some apps to increase productivity.

(19-04-2011, 04:39 PM)kazukirai Wrote: Ah Jon-san, your workplace too?
For me, I wouldn't switch even if my current workplace allows it. I just don't see the added benefits of playing games or any other stuff that most people use smartphones for.

If I were in a different line, that's a different story, I see some potential in using some apps to increase productivity.

One advantage of a smartphone is that I can surf valuebuddies during lunch time on it. Because my company blocks this site.

(19-04-2011, 04:39 PM)kazukirai Wrote: Ah Jon-san, your workplace too?
For me, I wouldn't switch even if my current workplace allows it. I just don't see the added benefits of playing games or any other stuff that most people use smartphones for.

If I were in a different line, that's a different story, I see some potential in using some apps to increase productivity.

In my line of work, quite often, having a camera phone actually improves productivity. Since we do a lot of inspections, quite often, we find defects which need visual records. However, due to the no-camera restrictions, we are required to apply for special passes in order to be able to use the company's camera for that. Slows down time and is disruptive to my work process. Moreover, if my company were thinking "out-of-the-box" enough, smartphone apps can actually help us by allowing us access to manuals, spare parts availability, drawings and other stuff, all via WiFi. But too bad, it's run by dinosaurs who are averse to capex to improve work systems, so we live in the dinosaur age here...

My personal view on smartphones is that we should only get one if we feel it will enhance our quality of life significantly, and also allow us to access conveniences and improve aspects of our lives which were deficient previously.

That said, I've noticed that smartphone users typically fall into a few groups (from cursory observations on bus/MRT - and this list is by no means exhaustive!):-

1) Facebook - This seems to be the perennial favourite. More than 50% of those I saw using iPhones were thumbing (sorry, fingering) through their Facebook App. Whether to get constant updates from friends/contacts or to post comments/feedback, this was obviously the app of choice.

2) Playing Games - I realize iPhones and smartphones in general do have a good range of games, including shooting games, slashing games, tetris-like games and Bejeweled too. This does make a boring MRT ride seem a lot more fun and makes time easier to pass.

3) SMS-ing - Good old fashioned SMS-ing. Enough said.

4) Listening to Music - Strangely enough, quite a few people were plugged in to listen to music (it's definitely music since they are hoooked up with earphones and eyes are closed). If that's the case, perhaps an iPod may be more convenient?

5) Watching Movies/TV Serials - Surprisingly, this ranked pretty high on the list as well, since quite a few people were glued to their screens watching the latest Youtube or TV serial (re-run?). Watching Music Videos also ranked pretty high.

6) Reading News - Most also used the iPhone as an e-reader, with many accessing news websites like CNA, ST and Stomp for the latest news or gossip/tabloid bits.

For myself, Facebook is never a big deal as I probably just log in once in 3 months and even then it's probably because a friend asked me to see his new pics.

As for music, I often hum my own tunes (I've got them all memorized, a reportoire of about 1,000 songs from the 80's and 90's) on the bus and MRT so do not need an iPod or radio.

For movies/TV serials, I don't watch them at all. Period. At most I head on to the nearest cinema to catch a good movie like Narnia or what-not.

In terms of reading the news, I don't see the point of being super updated anyway. Usually I am fine with going home 1-2 hours later to read the news online on my laptop at my leisure.

As for playing games, my old Nokia phone has my favourite Nature Park game, which I still play faithfully after 4-5 years. Never gets boring.

So those are the reasons I stubbornly refuse to get a smartphone and I remain the 10%, who will, in time, be classifed as staunch "Dinosaurs" in an era of high technology and breakneck gadgets. I rest my case.

Musicwhiz,

I've always had this fantasy. I humming to a tune on the bus or mrt, and everyone else joined in. We break out singing and dancing!!!

Then when the song ends, we all go back to our stoic selves like nothing has happended. Ha ha!

(20-04-2011, 06:21 PM)Jared Seah Wrote: Musicwhiz,

I've always had this fantasy. I humming to a tune on the bus or mrt, and everyone else joined in. We break out singing and dancing!!!

Then when the song ends, we all go back to our stoic selves like nothing has happended. Ha ha!

Haha try out this Music Video from the 1990's - Bjork's It's Oh So Quiet! Link is below:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1A_uSEjTIQ

It has some elements of what you mentioned - spontaneous and co-ordinated dancing by strangers along with Bjork!

great song... ah, good old days!

Data plan frees up more time for my other stuff. I can read news, reply emails on the go... it's also convenient in many little ways i.e saves you the trouble of remembering which buses go where, exact address etc etc. especially so for me since I store everything online, so anything everything I need is available wherever I go. Think it's worth it if you can fully utilize the functions facebook, music, movies are but a tiny fraction of what it can do...