An
ABI Research survey on mobile phone users' age-related feature and
price assumptions found nearly half of the respondents in the 40-59 age
bracket expected a touchscreen on a $50 mobile device.
That survey,
conducted in February, 2009, aimed to discover what features people
have on their phones, which are actually being used, and what features
people of different ages expect to find on cellular handsets at various
price-points.
The
top features, present on over half of all respondents' phones, were a
camera, Internet access, the ability to play music, to record video, to
send and receive email, and to do instant messaging.
A significantly
higher proportion of those aged 18-29 had these features, and some of a
dozen others, in their phones. According to research practice director
The
survey also queried users about what they'd expect to find in phones
costing $50, $100, and $150. Users of every age assumed that they would
find Internet access, email, and music in phones at all price points.
But, says Burden, some interesting patterns emerged. "The older the respondents, the lower their expectations. We were explicit in our question: not what you want
in a phone, but what you expect to find in it. And as age rises, almost
every feature is less expected, at every price point. The only
exception is older respondents' expecting touchscreens in low-end
models."
Do older
people expect advanced features to cost even more than $150? "Very
likely, it's inexperience," Burden believes. "Simplicity has been more
important than functionality in older age groups. They tend not to have
highly functional phones, so they're not clear on what they should
receive at any given price point. Whatever the reason, such information will help handset manufacturers design age-appropriate devices."
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