Out of the handset frying pan into the fire – letter to the editor

This letter was issued to selected journalists within the telecommunications field

Dear Sir,

Noriaki Ito, head of strategy at NTT DoCoMO has recently raised concerns about the incentive system for buying mobile phones. However, it’s unfortunate that the concerns are raised only in response to profit issues at carrier level and not as a reply to the changing patterns of consumer behaviour.

Some very strong independent businesses have always sold consumers handsets using the business model more dominant in the US and Arabic countries. In this system one simply buys a phone and then attaches a contract. The benefits for the consumer are rife. Early adopters can change phone as often as they like, while price sensitive customers can opt for a cheap handset that is paid for only in initial outlay.

The fundamental problem with the hybrid payment system suggested by Mr Iko is that customers will pay more for their handsets – not less. I am reminded of Dickens’ Fagin inviting Oliver Twist into his gang, explaining how much better life would be in fire, compared to the frying pan. However, I would temper this by stressing that DoCoMo is without question amongst the most progressive businesses in the industry – at least it is raising the issue of handset pricing.

Best regards,

Ali Mahmoud
Managing director
mPhone.co.uk
191-192 Temple Chambers
London
EC4Y 0DB
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7583 6859

Mobile use for work high - but only among men

~ Women more likely to see a phone as a tool for staying in touch with family, according to survey ~

Men are more likely to use their mobile phone for work related tasks while women are more likely to use it to stay in touch with their family. These are the findings of an independent survey produced by online mobile phone retailer mPhone.co.uk.

Nearly 28% of men see their mobile phones as ‘primarily a tool for work’ compared to only 7.7% of women who feel the same. Almost 50% of women view a mobile as a way of staying in touch with family members, while only 35% of men share their opinion. Meanwhile, both genders seem to perceive the social functions of a phone similarly, with 24.1% of men and 23.6% of women viewing a phone as a way of organising their social lives. Only 2.4% of men see a phone as a fashion item while a fraction of one per cent of women feel the same.

“Despite the survey suggesting that people don’t see their phones as fashion items there is a powerful, fashion industry led and heavily financially supported, move in this direction,” explained Ali Mahmoud, managing director of mPhone. “The trade is beginning to make inroads towards changing this view with last year’s release of the Motorola D&G (Dolce & Gabbana) phone and more recently with Prada's entry into the mobile phone market, in partnership with LG. This is an inexorable movement and my prediction is that a survey similar to this in two years time would show radically increased interest in the mobile as a fashion item.”

Advances in technology such as the introduction of direct push functionality, which allows e-mail to be downloaded to a phone as it arrives, have made using a mobile for work easier. Many phones now also incorporate spreadsheets and word processing software, functionality which has previously been confined to PDAs and mobile PCs.

“Traditionally men in the UK have been more focused on work than women,” continued Mahmoud. “Of course, this is a sweeping generalisation but does give us a starting point from which to work when analysing the results of our survey. The key is that the respondents described the ‘primary’ function they see their phones fulfilling, not the only function. As a result, this survey doesn’t show that women don’t use phones for work, or that men use phones only for business. More interestingly, it indicates the attitude each gender has towards a tool that can be used in many, many ways. One thing is certain - using a mobile for work isn’t restricted to London or other cities, it seems common amongst men across the UK.”

Popular mobile phones from the mPhone Web site that are well suited to work use include the HTC-Advantage X7500, the Blackberry 8800 Pearl and the HTC-S710 Pocket PC phone. The last of these incorporates a slide out QWERTY keyboard, another tool which proves popular amongst business and enterprise users.

The research on which this survey is based involved telephone interviews with a representative sample of 1000 UK adults and was broken down by sex, marital status, employment status, income earning status, number of children in household, socio economic group, ISBA (Incorporated Society of British Advertisers) region, TV region and age. A full copy of this research is available on request. It was conducted independently by NEMs market research on behalf of mPhone. Case studies of men who use their phones for business or women who use their phones for primarily social purposes are available on demand.

Ends: 606 words

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For further information contact: Ali Mahmoud,
mPhone Ltd, 191-192 Temple Chambers, London, EC4Y 0DB
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7583 6859
Fax: +44 (0) 870 7500 755
e-mail: ali@mphone.co.uk
www: http://www.mphone.co.uk/

Press enquiries: Richard Stone
Stone Junction, 24A Waldram Park Road,
Forest Hill, London, SE23 2PN
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 8699 7743
Fax: +44 (0) 20 8699 7743
e-mail: richards@stonejunction.co.uk
www: http://www.stonejunction.co.uk/

About mPhone Ltd: mPhone is a service led online mobile phone retailer, specialising in SIM free mobile phones but also providing contract phones, rental phones, insurance, ring tones and accessories. Brands include LG, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, Siemens, Sony Ericson and Panasonic.

Ref: MPH025/06/07