Teenagers & Smartphones

by Hisham Isa, Vice President (Marketing)

Teens and smartphones are in the news.

Nielsen recently reported that more than half of all teenagers, aged 13 - 17, in the United States now owns a smartphone.

Globally, across the BuzzCity Network, we find that 1 in 3 teens uses a smartphone . . . not quite as many teens as adults, but still a significant number.

A big question though is . . . where are they getting them?

Handsets, PCs and Tablets

By Hisham Isa, Vice President (Marketing)

Contrary to popular expectations, rising demand for tablets has not affected consumer interest in mobile phones and computers.

Plus, handsets remain the device of choice for surfing the internet.

These are two of the key findings of a recent BuzzCity survey of mobile users in more than 700 cities and towns across 71 countries.

Smartphones Become Mainstream

By Hisham Isa, Vice President (Marketing)

Smartphones are no longer simply a tool for business professionals.

Nor is the market for smartphones limited to rich kids in places like Singapore and the US.

BuzzCity's latest survey - conducted in 71 countries across the globe - shows that nearly half of all people surfing the mobile internet are using smartphones.

This is a huge shift, thanks largely to cheaper handsets and more affordable bandwidth costs . . . and it's a trend that has important implications for handset manufacturers who risk being irrelevant if they compete on price alone.

The BuzzCity Report - Volume 2 Issue 4

In this issue of The BuzzCity Report, we feature the results of a user survey conducted in July 2012. This is the sixth and largest of our studies on mobile Internet usage – more than 10,000 respondents from 71 countries took part.

The study is intended to help publishers and advertisers fine-tune their content & marketing strategies as consumer online behavior evolves.

Our findings suggest: -

1. The mobile Internet has become an integral part of most people’s daily lives – for the young and old. Those who surf come from all income brackets and business sectors.

2. Mobiles are the preferred surfing tool although a shift to surfing with multiple devices is seen among some consumers. However, a lot of behaviour from mobile consumers remains unchanged.

3. Consumers still want to do more with their phones!

The survey is also summarised as an infographic that highlights the key learnings.