Smartphone penetration seen hitting 60pc in 2 years

by **hlk** Fri 26 Apr 2013, 10:48

KUALA LUMPUR: Almost 60 per cent of the total Malaysian
population will own a smartphone in two years, thanks to the various
incentives by the government.

McCann Worldgroup group director
(brand planning and innovations) Milan Agnihotri said the projected
figures were derived from a recent survey, "Mobile Connected Lives -
Malaysian Truths".

McCann conducted the study to get an insight into the mobile phone industry and how it plays a role in people's lives.

The survey was conducted globally and in Malaysia as well.

"We expect the use of mobile phones to go up as the government provides
the RM200 rebate for young Malaysians to buy smartphones," he told
Business Times in a recent interview.

Agnihotri said Malaysians
were one of the most active users when it comes to smartphones with an
average of 6.4 hours spent in a week on just data usage, which means no
voice or telephone calls were made during these times.

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"That means 50 minutes a day are spent on browsing the Net and checking
the social media networks via the mobile platform alone," he added.

Agnihotri said in Malaysia, almost 40 per cent of the population owns
at least two mobile phones with 137.7 per cent penetration, which is one
of the highest in the world.

"In time, companies would have to
start setting aside more money to advertise on mobile platforms, which
is growing steadily on a year-on-year basis," he added.

Agnihotri said the android platform was more popular in Malaysia
compared to the iPhone's, simply because it was more versatile.

"It
was also evident from the data that social networking and
entertainment-related activities such as music, downloading, chatting
and games are the drivers of mobile Internet.

"Hence, it was
obvious from the research study that consumers'preference was for
devices and the service providers who could support these drivers,"
Agnihotri added.