Mobile phones are popular holiday gifts, with more consumers acquiring a new mobile in December than any other month, reports M:Metrics. The measurement firm revealed for the first time today its historical device sales and satisfaction data in the United States and Europe, and found that 15 percent of all European subscribers who acquired a new phone in 2006 did so in December, a rate that is 90 percent higher than an average month.
In the United States, 12 percent got their phone in December, which is 40 percent above the monthly average rate.
"December is consistently the highest-performing month for new device purchases, and the operators have responded by embellishing their handset portfolios in time for the holidays," said Paul Goode, senior analyst, M:Metrics. "As we look out at the Christmas season, one way to gauge how devices may perform is their popularity, so the iPhone and N95 should do well at the premium end of the market. These fun, stylish devices have the potential to compel consumers to choose to gift a mobile device over other popular consumer electronics such as MP3 players and videogame consoles."
One dimension of M:Metrics' research into mobile media consumption is understanding how mobile devices relate to a consumer's propensity to access mobile services. The firm measures multiple aspects of device ownership, including whether the device was purchased in the previous month, and how the consumer rates their level of satisfaction with it, on a scale of one (dissatisfied) to 10 (extremely satisfied).
According to M:Metrics, Sony Ericsson's k810i and Nokia's N95 post the highest satisfaction scores in Europe, while the LG EnV and iPhone vie for the top position in the United States.
Top Devices By Satisfaction Score (1-10), September 2007
| France | Germany | Italy | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Device | Score | Device | Score | Device | Score |
| Sony Ericsson K800i | 9 | Sony Ericsson K810i | 8.8 | Nokia N95 | 9.29 |
| Sony Ericsson W810i | 8.79 | Sony Ericsson W850i | 8.72 | Nokia 6310i | 8.83 |
| Sony Ericsson W850i | 8.58 | Sony Ericsson W880i | 8.67 | Nokia 3330 | 8.74 |
Top Devices By Satisfaction Score (1-10), September 2007
| Spain | UK | USA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Device | Score | Device | Score | Device | Score |
| Nokia N95 | 9.14 | Sony Ericsson K810i | 8.68 | LG VX9900 enV Orange | 9.24 |
| Sony Ericsson K800i | 8.74 | Samsung SGH-E250 | 8.63 | Apple iPhone 8GB | 9.21 |
| Sony Ericsson Z610i | 8.4 | Nokia 2310 | 8.52 | LG AX355 | 8.98 |
"Consumers who love their mobile phone are more likely to recommend it to someone else, and potentially buy it as a gift," observed Goode. "High-end phones, such as the N95, Sony Ericsson's k850 and the Walkman series are being heavily promoted across Europe as Vodafone and Orange tout these multimedia devices and their 3G capabilities in the shadow of the iPhone. Meanwhile, in the U.S., Verizon just launched the iPhone-like Voyager and T-Mobile responded with the Shadow earlier in the month."
Posted to the site on 27th November 2007
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