22 Dec 2003

Survey says that users need more support to get the most from today's devices - and operators had better take note.

Smartphone users are eager to use their devices for e-mail whilst on the move but many are not receiving enough of the right support from network operators, device manufacturers and retail outlets in order to do so.

This is the conclusion of a survey of UK Smartphone users conducted on behalf of Intuwave, the mobile software specialist, by independent market researchers Taylor Nelson Sofres. The survey was conducted against the background of a dramatic increase in the number of Smartphone devices in the market.

The users surveyed cited e-mail as the top application, with 44 per cent currently using their Smartphones for e-mail. Another 19 per cent of users are keen to use e-mail on their Smartphones but do not currently do so.

The continued growth in mobile e-mail usage is also confirmed by evidence from a previous Intuwave survey conducted in March 2003 which revealed that 31 percent of consumers chose Smartphones as their preferred device for e-mail on the move, against 30 per cent for laptops.

According to a recent report from Ovum, shipments of Symbian handsets will reach 130 million phones worldwide in 2007, with a predicted 22 million shipments for the Microsoft Smartphone OS.

This combination of growth in the number of devices on the market - and the desire to use Smartphones for e-mail - means that user difficulties with e-mail are the number one problem for mobile network operator support staff at the current time.

Andrew Wyatt, vice president of strategic marketing at Intuwave, says, "Taking the Sony Ericsson P800 Smartphone as an example, there are over 12 parameters to set for the e-mail function to work on this device. Even if the user knows how to set parameters there is a likelihood they will get at least one wrong, thus resulting in non-functioning e-mail and a frustrated user.

User expectations of Smartphones are based in the experience of voice on the mobile phone, which means 'dialtone' levels of reliability and simplicity. Despite the best efforts of point-of-sale staff or device manufacturers it will be primarily the mobile service provider that gets the support call when customers start to explore and use the capabilities of their new devices and encounter difficulty.

He continues, "E-mail on mobile phones is fairly basic in today's terms, but as the survey shows, people do want to use their phones and Smartphones for e-mail. The question remains, if e-mail is such a big problem today, how can we expect other functionalities of Smartphones to be used?

For operators to rollout more complex and business-critical applications, users need assurance that a customer services representative will be able to fix problems in a quick and easy way."

With the growth in Smartphone sales, network operators face the prospect of a disastrous triple whammy of rising user support costs, user frustration and lost revenues unless they are able to manage users' devices much more effectively and proactively.

 Intuwave advises the mobile industry to be more proactive in supporting Smartphone users in their desire to utilise the advanced functionality of their devices, which in turn will increase average revenue per user and drive further adoption.
 

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