Analyst Angle: Smartphone geeks in the U.S. and China

Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly feature, Analyst Angle. We’ve collected a group of the industry’s leading analysts to give their outlook on the hot topics in the wireless industry. In the coming weeks look for columns from Current Analysis’ Avi Greengart, Jupiter Research’s Julie Ask and more.
I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that you stand out in a crowd. Why? Because you are, as a member of the wireless industry, reader of RCR Wireless News and, more than likely, mobile worker, feverishly tapping out messages on your smartphone.
The good news is that smartphone adoption is increasing, but not as quickly as your “significant other” might like. In other words, the general population is catching up with your geek-ish traits. The same is also true if you live in China.
No, I have not recently surveyed RCR Wireless News readers. In fact, this rather anecdotal data comes from our recently completed annual survey of mobile workers in the U.S. We also fielded a similar survey in China-just to make things a little more interesting.
This year, compared with surveys past, we added a new requirement to the survey: the mobile workers had to use a smartphone or RIM device. Note that while iGR considers a RIM device a smartphone, the survey did differentiate between RIM devices and Treos or Cingular 3125s, for example.
What we found in the U.S., as compared with previous years, is that this time around it only took 6,382 respondents to find the qualified sample-as opposed to more than 15,000 last year. Even so, only 15% (of those 6,382) said they used smartphones; 20% used RIM devices. There were other, subsequent criteria (mobility, industry, etc.) which further winnowed the sample to the final number of survey completes (which totaled 428).
Of those using smartphones, about 30% said that they were using their first such device. Sixty percent of the respondents said that they were allowed to choose the smartphone device (RIM included) that they are using; 25% said that they were allowed to choose their current device from a list of approved devices; and, 16% said that they were not able to choose the device they’re using.
For the survey in China (which fielded in July), we collected 886 responses from mobile workers in major cities. We asked about a variety of mobile services, devices (including handsets, laptops, smartphones and PDAs) and applications, collecting sufficient data to build a very complete profile of the Chinese mobile worker.
As in the U.S. sample, smartphones were prevalent in the Chinese sample-three quarters of respondents said they used a smartphone or RIM Blackberry. And as in the U.S., smartphones are not just used for business-a significant portion of respondents said they used their smartphone exclusively for personal reasons.
What’s also interesting about the results from the U.S. and Chinese surveys is that a sizeable percentage in each country said that they were using their first smartphone: This suggests that adoption is consistent and/or increasing over past year in both regions. Approximately two thirds in the U.S. and China have used one or two smartphones in the past three years-assuming 18 months per device (assuming no returns/loss/breakage) and that sounds about right for a smartphone lifecycle.
The U.S. and Chinese surveys also asked the mobile workers to specify their wireless carrier, the types of applications they use on their smartphones, as well as the number of voice minutes, e-mail and SMS they send each month. All in all, smartphone usage is on the rise-especially as the definition of what a smartphone is continues to blur and many of the formerly high-end features slip down-market.
So when your significant other complains about your incessant need to respond immediately to each and every e-mail, rather than use the usual excuse of “It’s for work, honey,” you may want to point out that you are part of a growing trend of U.S. and Chinese workers and consumers who are seeing the light and getting smart. If the response from your SO is for you to take a hike to China and join your friends over there, I claim no responsibility.
Questions or comments about this column? Please e-mail Iain at iain@igr-inc.com or RCR Wireless News at rcrwebhelp@crain.com.