According to a survey measuring India’s smartphone impact, done by Google with IPSOS and the MMA (Mobile Marketing Association), Indians have outnumbered US in usage of smartphone for social networking and emails. The survey findings state that 76 per cent Indians are accessing social networking sites more through their smart phones in comparison to a 54 per cent from the US. Email usage on smartphones is higher in India upto 81 per cent when compared with the US.
The survey further states that despite having less than 50 per cent of USA’s 245 million users, survey conducted by IPSOS and Google reveals Indian smartphone users access the Internet multiple times a day more than what citizens in the US do through their smartphones.
Men in India access the internet more through smartphones as compared to women. According to the survey findings, 59 per cent of males access the internet more through smartphones versus 48 per cent of usage by females.
The survey had a few surprises in store revealing that the usage of smart phone between the age group of 18- 29 is the highest. The phone is no longer just a means of making calls and sending sms, the survey identifies that people today use their smartphones to search, follow news, watch TV, listen to music, connecting with family and friends. However, while some might be tech savvy utilizing their smartphone features to the max, there are many who still use their smartphones for basic needs.
A comparison of internet usage on smart device versus desktop reveals that 56 per cent of smartphone owners in India prefer accessing internet multiple times a day through their phones. 78 per cent of smartphone owners indulge in searching from their device, 77 per cent of smartphone users in India like listening to music on their smart device and close to 35 per cent of smartphone owners either read newspapers, book and magazines or watch TV and close to 33 per cent enjoy playing games.
Another key mobile insight that emerged is that, 97 per cent of smartphone owners are heavy users while at home. Men have a higher usage of smartphones when at work with close to a figure of 80 per cent as compared to 71 per cent women at work. Surprisingly while people are engaging more into online shopping, it is found that 40 per cent of smartphone owners do not feel secure to purchase online through their smart device and prefer PC/ laptop for the same.
According to Lalitesh Katragadda, Country Head-India, Products, Google, “The survey reiterates our belief in ‘mobile first’. Culturally, even beyond the well-educated, mainstream Indians are technology curious and device savvy. We believe that the Internet like telephony did, is making the leap from wired internet to mobile, and hundreds of millions of Indians will go online on their mobile devices. At Google, we are building a powerful, simple, personable mobile ecosystem that helps every user be connected as they want and when they want to.”
