Aside from text messaging, which continues to grow, many observers would say that sales of PC cards are the second most important new mobile data revenue stream, increasing use of smart phone data plans notwithstanding.
Within the smart phone segment, "almost all of the evidence I've seen to date shows that the market is deeply divided into two groups," says Michael Mace, Rubicon Consulting principal.
When surveyed, most people in the United States and Europe say they will not pay anything extra for mobile device features other than voice and SMS, Mace argues.
"They'll use those features if you give them away for free, but as soon as you ask them to pay, about 65 percent of the population drops out," he says.
"Fortunately, the other 35 percent of the U.S. and European population is willing to pay extra for mobile data features," Mace says.
The issue is that at least four distinct market segments can be identified. There are PC card users, then three smart phone segments, including users focused on entertainment, communications and information. Different features are important to each user segment.
So there probably is no single device design that wins in all segments.
The issue is that at least four distinct market segments can be identified. There are PC card users, then three smart phone segments, including users focused on entertainment, communications and information. Different features are important to each user segment.
So there probably is no single device design that wins in all segments.
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