Monday, June 27, 2005
Selectiona and Quality of Third-Party Software Influence Mobile Device Buying Decision According to Handango Survey
Posted by Jason Dunn in "NEWS" @ 06:00 AM
"Third-party software is a powerful influencer in the decision to purchase a smartphone or handheld, according to a recent Handango survey of mobile content users and their behavior. The in-depth results from more than 14,000 buyers of mobile downloads revealed that the selection and quality of third-party software had a "strong influence" or "somewhat of an influence" on 69% of the users' decisions to purchase their mobile devices. The availability of third-party software was also ranked as the third most important influencer in a device buying decision behind only "need in my personal life" and "need in my line of work"."
An interesting survey, especially for those of you who are developers - if you don't have a trial version of your software, it seems most customers won't buy your application. Of course, that's something most of us knew already. ;-) The rest of the press release is below.
"The rich data from our customer survey enables Handango and our partners - including mobile operators, handset manufacturers, portals and developers - to optimize content discovery, purchasing and usage, which helps us grow the overall mobile downloads ecosystem," said Randy Eisenman, president and chief executive officer of Handango. "This year, we're also very excited to make a subset of the survey data available to the public in an effort to spread awareness of the desires and needs of mobile content users."
Additional findings from the survey revealed that people who actively use mobile content on their smartphones and handhelds are more satisfied with their mobile device and less likely to change brands. Ninety-four percent of respondents indicated that they are "extremely satisfied" or "very satisfied" with their mobile device experience.
Multimedia on the Rise
In the same survey last year, customers ranked "multimedia capabilities" as a minor influence in their decision to buy a mobile device. This year, customers ranked the multimedia capabilities of the mobile device as a more important buying criterion than price and the sixth most important criterion overall behind "need in personal life", "need in line of work", "availability of third-party software", "wireless capabilities" and "brand".
Extremely Active Usage, Despite User Experience Challenges
Seventy-one percent of respondents reported having purchased and installed more than five applications, not including trials and freeware, indicating extremely active usage. However, despite extremely high satisfaction and usage rates, two out of five respondents reported having difficulty licensing their mobile applications. Currently, mobile content providers employ a wide variety of licensing schemes which may lead to the high rate of issues.
Short Trials Are More Effective
Customers ranked "availability of a trial" was the number one influencer in their decision to purchase mobile downloads. While there was a strong desire to try applications before buying, respondents indicated that only very short trial periods are needed. Sixty-nine percent of customers say they need less than three days to evaluate an application and 29% said they need less than one hour.
Choice is the Killer App
The survey also uncovered a wide array of user preferences. Customers indicated that they are primarily interested in applications in four key categories: Business & Professional, Productivity, Utilities and Games. Yet, their specific uses within these and other secondary categories were excessively broad. When customers were asked which application led them to purchase their current mobile device, their responses ran the gamut with no single response gathering more than 5% of answers. This indicates a wide variety of personalization and professional needs which can only be met by a broad selection of mobile downloads.
About the 2005 Handango Buyer Survey
The 2005 Handango Buyer Survey is comprised of responses from more than 14,000 mobile software buyers who have purchased from the network of online and phone portals powered by Handango. The self-administered survey was delivered via email in English to more than 60,000 potential respondents and was completed over a three-week period in May 2005. Respondents were self-selecting and received a 20% software discount code and entry into a drawing for a free smartphone of their choice for their participation. To receive a copy of the survey results in CSV format, please email [email][email protected][/email].
About Handango
Handango is the leading provider of mobile downloads bringing over 50,000 applications and 25,000 digital media titles to market through an extensive global distribution network that reaches millions of mobile customers. Handango's application management and provisioning platform, Handango AMPP, has been chosen as the mobile software delivery platform for Nokia, Motorola, Research in Motion, Sprint, Verizon Wireless, Cingular Wireless, T-Mobile, Orange SA, Sony Ericsson, palmOne, Microsoft, HP, Sega Mobile, AOL and more than 100 others. For more information, visit www.handango.com.
An interesting survey, especially for those of you who are developers - if you don't have a trial version of your software, it seems most customers won't buy your application. Of course, that's something most of us knew already. ;-) The rest of the press release is below.
"The rich data from our customer survey enables Handango and our partners - including mobile operators, handset manufacturers, portals and developers - to optimize content discovery, purchasing and usage, which helps us grow the overall mobile downloads ecosystem," said Randy Eisenman, president and chief executive officer of Handango. "This year, we're also very excited to make a subset of the survey data available to the public in an effort to spread awareness of the desires and needs of mobile content users."
Additional findings from the survey revealed that people who actively use mobile content on their smartphones and handhelds are more satisfied with their mobile device and less likely to change brands. Ninety-four percent of respondents indicated that they are "extremely satisfied" or "very satisfied" with their mobile device experience.
Multimedia on the Rise
In the same survey last year, customers ranked "multimedia capabilities" as a minor influence in their decision to buy a mobile device. This year, customers ranked the multimedia capabilities of the mobile device as a more important buying criterion than price and the sixth most important criterion overall behind "need in personal life", "need in line of work", "availability of third-party software", "wireless capabilities" and "brand".
Extremely Active Usage, Despite User Experience Challenges
Seventy-one percent of respondents reported having purchased and installed more than five applications, not including trials and freeware, indicating extremely active usage. However, despite extremely high satisfaction and usage rates, two out of five respondents reported having difficulty licensing their mobile applications. Currently, mobile content providers employ a wide variety of licensing schemes which may lead to the high rate of issues.
Short Trials Are More Effective
Customers ranked "availability of a trial" was the number one influencer in their decision to purchase mobile downloads. While there was a strong desire to try applications before buying, respondents indicated that only very short trial periods are needed. Sixty-nine percent of customers say they need less than three days to evaluate an application and 29% said they need less than one hour.
Choice is the Killer App
The survey also uncovered a wide array of user preferences. Customers indicated that they are primarily interested in applications in four key categories: Business & Professional, Productivity, Utilities and Games. Yet, their specific uses within these and other secondary categories were excessively broad. When customers were asked which application led them to purchase their current mobile device, their responses ran the gamut with no single response gathering more than 5% of answers. This indicates a wide variety of personalization and professional needs which can only be met by a broad selection of mobile downloads.
About the 2005 Handango Buyer Survey
The 2005 Handango Buyer Survey is comprised of responses from more than 14,000 mobile software buyers who have purchased from the network of online and phone portals powered by Handango. The self-administered survey was delivered via email in English to more than 60,000 potential respondents and was completed over a three-week period in May 2005. Respondents were self-selecting and received a 20% software discount code and entry into a drawing for a free smartphone of their choice for their participation. To receive a copy of the survey results in CSV format, please email [email][email protected][/email].
About Handango
Handango is the leading provider of mobile downloads bringing over 50,000 applications and 25,000 digital media titles to market through an extensive global distribution network that reaches millions of mobile customers. Handango's application management and provisioning platform, Handango AMPP, has been chosen as the mobile software delivery platform for Nokia, Motorola, Research in Motion, Sprint, Verizon Wireless, Cingular Wireless, T-Mobile, Orange SA, Sony Ericsson, palmOne, Microsoft, HP, Sega Mobile, AOL and more than 100 others. For more information, visit www.handango.com.
