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19-04-2011, 08:30 AM
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
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
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