A MetaFacts TUPdate by Dan Ness, Principal Analyst

Are Smartphone subscribers more about fun than communication? Is entertainment that much stronger for Smartphone subscribers than for users of Basic Mobile Phones? Is the lack of a boss key because mobile phone users feel freer to have fun with their handsets than their PCs?

For Smartphone users, it’s not only playing games like Angry Birds that is widespread. Activities such as listening to music, watching movies, and checking sports and weather also are prevalent.

These fun activities are much more popular on Smartphones than on Basic Mobile Phones. For most key entertainment activities, more than three times the rate of Smartphone users find ways to play than the percentage of Basic Mobile Phone users.

Entertainment Activities by Mobile Phone Type-MetaFacts

Playing Games and Listening to Music are activities for more than half of Smartphone users, and for only one-fifth or less of Basic Mobile Phone users.

High-end app developers may be amazed that any Basic Mobile Phone users find ways to use their simpler phones to have any fun at all. That might be considered a glass half-full view, with the prospect that someone eager enough to struggle with the limited games and web access on most Basic Mobile Phones may be a great candidate to switch to a smartphone. The half-empty types may see this as a reality that for many consumers, good enough is good enough. They may be satisfied with simple games for casual play, and may be less prone to upgrade their platform. In either case, this highlights that app developers, handset makers and carriers need to look at the demand across multiple platforms so they don’t miss out on market opportunity or dissatisfy important customers.

Diving a little deeper into the Technology User Profile survey responses, fun is also age-linked. The game-playing rate among age 18-34 mobile phone users is 42% versus half that (21%) among those aged 35+. Although to a great extent, Smartphones have been more strongly adopted among younger than older adults, taking age into account; Smartphone users are simply more fun-oriented than users of Basic Mobile Phones.

Fun isn’t the only driver for Smartphones; communication does rate more highly for Smartphones than for Basic Mobile Phones, with usage broadly spanning phone calls, text messages, voicemail, and email for two-thirds or more of Smartphone users. For Basic Mobile Phone users, only phone calls and text messaging are used by over half of the users.

Looking ahead, bandwidth-hogs such as multi-player games and video calls are likely to drive demand for Smartphones as well as underlying wireless networks. However, as carriers seek to optimize their spectrum and profits, data caps or throttled apps may discourage the most active subscribers. Then, these users will either revert to other devices, or app makers and service providers will find ways to further optimize precious bandwidth, likely increasing supply to satisfy the demand driven by so many consumers.

Source

The results in this TUPdate are drawn from the MetaFacts Technology User Profile Survey. In our most recent wave of Technology User Profile, we surveyed American adults about their use of mobile phones, technology attitudes, and many other behavioral and socioeconomic factors. Current TUP subscribers can access and drill down more deeply into this phenomenon using TUP Interactive Access or with their datasets.

We started this analysis by first looking at the answers from 8,175 U.S. respondents in the Technology User Profile service and then drilled down further into their profiles to get a more complete picture.

The MetaFacts Technology User Profile Overview Edition report is available immediately on www.metafactsstore.com, which covers the broader range of key trends. View findings in 25 pages of executive summary analysis, 200+ pages of charts and graphs, all supported by 95+ pages of detailed tables. The complete, 300+ page report is delivered to you electronically.

These editions are for the U.S. based on the 2010 wave of Technology User Profile gathered among a scrupulously selected set of representative respondents, surveyed both online and offline.

To see other research coverage of Internet products and activities  – from smartphones to feature phones, desktops to notebooks, social networking, demographics, and attitudes – see the many other questions TUP answers on www.technologyuser.com. Tech market research professionals who want a solid resource they can use immediately after industry events such as mergers, or even use prior to anticipated events, can license direct access to TUP.

About TUPdates

MetaFacts releases ongoing research on the market shifts and profiles for Smartphones, Netbooks, Mobile PCs, Workplace PCs, Home PCs, Web Creators, Broadband, and many other technology industry trends and facts. These TUPdates are short analytical articles in a series of specific topics utilizing the Technology User Profile Annual Edition study, which reveals the changing patterns of technology adoption around the world. Interested technology professionals can sign up at www.metafacts.com for complimentary TUPdates – periodic snapshots of technology markets.

About MetaFacts

MetaFacts helps technology marketers find and measure their best and future customers. MetaFacts’ Technology User Profile (TUP) survey is the longest-running, large-scale comprehensive study of its kind, conducted continuously since 1983, the year before Apple released the Apple Macintosh. The detailed results are a primary market sizing and segmentation resource for leading companies providing consumer-oriented technology products and services, such as PCs, printers, software applications, peripherals, consumer electronics, mobile computing, and related services and products. TUP analyzes key trends and the data-rich source can be dived into more deeply for custom analysis. For more information about the syndicated research service, analysis tools, publications and datasets, contact MetaFacts at 1-760-635-4300.

A MetaFacts TUPdate by Dan Ness, Principal Analyst

Ink refill usage is substantial, especially among some leading-edge market segments.

There’s an old marketing adage about giving away the razor to make it up selling razor blades. In the PC printer business, printer ink pays a lot of the bills, yet is increasingly at risk.

In our most recent wave of Technology User Profile, American adults told us they continue to prefer original ink versus compatible or refilled cartridges. However, the ink loyalty rate varies by PC printer brand and market segment. One bellwether segment is decidedly using refills or sharing photos online.

We started this analysis by first looking at the answers from 8,175 U.S. respondents in the Technology User Profile service and then drilled down further into their profiles including factors such as their printer brand, type of ink used, years of PC experience, and age. We also compared usage from our prior waves, including results from our identical surveys across nine other countries.

In U.S. homes, original is strongest. Kodak & Lexmark have the highest ink loyalty, at 81% and 79%, respectively. Eight in ten adults who use these PC printer brands as their primary printer used an original ink cartridge by the same manufacturer as the printer.

Ink Type by Printer Brand

HP’s ink loyalty rate is not the strongest, with HP ranked third. HP is maintaining its strength: its ink loyalty rate at 73% is slightly up from 70% the prior year.

These high ink loyalty rates may be satisfactory enough for some printer manufacturers, yet as consumers change their printing behaviors, and even non-printing behaviors, these rates are likely to change as well.

Use of refilled ink is highest for Dell and Brother, both with 27% of adult printer users. Due to HP’s dominant market share, the number of users of refills for HP printers is almost equal to users of refills for all other brands combined.

The refilled market is broad and diverse, so unlikely to change overnight. It it served by a diverse group – spanning drug stores such as Walgreens, franchises like Cartridge World, to a small army of entrepreneurs and do-it-yourselfers with pliers and squeeze bottles.

Direct competition is strong, although compatible inks trail refills as the least-preferred option across most brands. Use of competitive compatible inks is highest for Epson and Brother, at 19% and 18%, respectively.

Compared with many other developed countries, the U.S. has some of the most ink-loyal consumers. Our prior wave of Technology User Profile across key countries revealed that ink loyalty rates are strongest in Japan and the US and weakest in Germany and the UK, and that use of refills is highest in South Korea and Germany.

Home Photo Printing - Ink & Options

Looking ahead, the ink business continues to face challenges both from within the printer and ink industry as well as from substitutes.

Printer manufacturers hoping to reclaim refill customers face an uphill battle beyond pricing, since a higher rate of refill users share photos online and a lower rate print photos. Adults who use refills have higher rates of using online photo-sharing services, sharing images across a social network, sharing on their own websites or blogs, and sharing folders online through a cloud storage service. They are an attractive segment, though, because when they print, they print at higher volumes.

To the extent that younger users are bellwether of future buyers, it’s important to note that younger adults use refills at a higher rate than older adults.

Looking further ahead, increased online collaboration is expected to continue the erosion of home-printing photos. Of the 70.9 million adults with a home printer which they don’t use to print photos, most of their sharing is done online. The greatest upside is likely to come from the broad general increase in images from user’s own smartphones, feature phones and cameras, as well as the many photos they receive online from friends and others.

Source

The results in this TUPdate are drawn from the MetaFacts Technology User Profile Survey. Results specific to this topic can be obtained through a customized report and analysis. The MetaFacts Technology User Profile Overview Edition report is available immediately on www.metafactsstore.com, which covers the broader range of key trends. View findings in 25 pages of executive summary analysis, 200+ pages of charts and graphs, all supported by 95+ pages of detailed tables. The complete, 300+ page report is delivered to you electronically. This edition is for the U.S. based on the 2010 wave of Technology User Profile gathered among a scrupulously selected set of representative respondents, surveyed both online and offline.

To see other research coverage of Internet products and activities – from smartphones to feature phones, desktops to notebooks, social networking, demographics, and attitudes – see the many other questions TUP answers on www.technologyuser.com. Tech market research professionals who want a solid resource they can use immediately after industry events such as mergers, or even use prior to anticipated events, can license direct access to TUP.

About TUPdates

MetaFacts releases ongoing research on the market shifts and profiles for Smartphones, Netbooks, Mobile PCs, Workplace PCs, Home PCs, Web Creators, Broadband, and many other technology industry trends and facts. These TUPdates are short analytical articles in a series of specific topics utilizing the Technology User Profile Annual Edition study, which reveals the changing patterns of technology adoption around the world. Interested technology professionals can sign up at www.metafacts.com for complimentary TUPdates – periodic snapshots of technology markets.

About MetaFacts

MetaFacts, Inc. is a market research firm focusing exclusively on the technology industries. MetaFacts’ Technology User Profile (TUP) survey is the longest-running, large-scale comprehensive study of its kind, conducted continuously since 1983, the year before Apple released the Apple Macintosh. The detailed results are a primary market sizing and segmentation resource for leading companies providing consumer-oriented technology products and services, such as PCs, printers, software applications, peripherals, consumer electronics, mobile computing, and related services and products. TUP analyzes key trends and the data-rich source can be dived into more deeply for custom analysis. For more information about the syndicated research service, analysis tools, publications and datasets, contact MetaFacts at 1-760-635-4300.

Early Adopter

Today, Amazon announced the Amazon Cloud Drive and Amazon Cloud Player for Web. This game-changing move will likely bring a boost to the decades-old online file storage services. It may even have the effect of reining in music listeners who may have strayed, since the player will evidently only support purchased songs.

We took a quick look into the MetaFacts Technology User Profile research and discovered several challenges ahead for Amazon and others planning to follow suit, as well as some elements that show Amazon is in the right place at the right time with the right offering.

First of all, more Amazon shoppers alread use online cloud storage than non-shoppers. This means these consumers may be predisposed to cloud-based storage which is an advantage for Amazon. However, if the consumers currently using cloud storage are focused more on file backup and file/folder synchronization services, these don’t appear to be in Amazon’s initial offering.

Also, more Amazon shoppers use a portable MP3 player than online onsumers who don’t regularly shop on Amazon. While Apple’s iPod has the highest share among MP3 players, it’s share isn’t markedly different among Amazon’s shoppers than non-shoppers

In fact, Amazon’s shoppers are already active music-listeners, being well above average in music downloading and listening to streaming audio.

They are also more active using social networks, as well as sharing photos and videos through networks like Facebook, or through sites like HP Snapfish.

Meanwhile, among users of cloud storage services, Apple’s footprint is substantially higher than among non-cloud users. Further, users of cloud storage skew younger than Amazon’s current clientele. This could have the effect of drawing in younger customers to Amazon’s customer base, or may be ignored by Amazon’s relatively older and less cloud-savvy customers.

Cloud storage users have a higher share of Smartphone use than non-users, with higher shares for use of RIM Blackberry, Windows Phone, Apple iPhones and Android Smartphones.

Because most consumers may not know that Amazon has supported back-end cloud storage for many other technology firms, consumers are likely to raise concerns about Amazon’s experience and security capabilities.

Interested tech marketers and researchers may contact MetaFacts or visit the MetaFacts Online Store for licensing information.

Source

The results in this TUPdate are drawn from the MetaFacts Technology User Profile Survey. Results specific to this topic can be obtained through customized report. Also, the related MetaFacts Technology User Profile Overview Edition report is available immediately on www.metafactsstore.com, which covers the broader range of key trends. View findings in 25 pages of executive summary analysis, 200+ pages of charts and graphs, all supported by 95+ pages of detailed tables. The complete, 300+ page report is delivered to you electronically. This edition is for the U.S. based on the 2010 wave of Technology User Profile gathered among a scrupulously selected set of representative respondents, surveyed both online and offline.

To see other research coverage of Internet products and activities – from smartphones to feature phones, desktops to notebooks, social networking, demographics, and attitudes – see the many other questions TUP answers on www.technologyuser.com. Tech market research professionals who want a solid resource they can use immediately after industry events such as mergers, or even use prior to anticipated events, can license direct access to TUP.

About TUPdates

MetaFacts releases ongoing research on the market shifts and profiles for Smartphones, Netbooks, Mobile PCs, Workplace PCs, Home PCs, Web Creators, Broadband, and many other technology industry trends and facts. These TUPdates are short analytical articles in a series of specific topics utilizing the Technology User Profile Annual Edition study, which reveals the changing patterns of technology adoption around the world. Interested technology professionals can sign up at www.metafacts.com for complimentary TUPdates – periodic snapshots of technology markets.

About MetaFacts

MetaFacts, Inc. is a market research firm focusing exclusively on the technology industries. MetaFacts’ Technology User Profile (TUP) survey is the longest-running, large-scale comprehensive study of its kind, conducted continuously since 1983, the year before Apple released the Apple Macintosh. The detailed results are a primary market sizing and segmentation resource for leading companies providing consumer-oriented technology products and services, such as PCs, printers, software applications, peripherals, consumer electronics, mobile computing, and related services and products. TUP analyzes key trends and the data-rich source can be dived into more deeply for custom analysis. For more information about the syndicated research service, analysis tools, publications and datasets, contact MetaFacts at 1-760-635-4300.

The market for changing technologies is always in flux, and mobile PCs are not exception to the rule. It’s important to know your market, and know it well–is the coffee-shop CEO the leader of the mobile PC pack, or is it the high-school gamer?

Oftentimes the original die-hards for a product are no longer its current audience.  Strong research on changing demographics brings the new market to the forefront.

Below are a few examples of questions addressed in TUP related to the mobile PC market. The full TUP service enables drilling down beyond the answers to these questions to identify which other technologies, services and behaviors are disruptive and to profile which market segments are and aren’t adopting. TUP is much more than a one-dimensional market view or opinion piece, since it provide solid answers to the following questions as well as many others.

• What do most people do with their mobile phone as compared to their PC? Which align with which platforms?
• Netbooks – how soon and with which market segments?
• Are mobile computers used longer or shorter than desktops? If so, what’s the difference, and who uses them longest?
• Primacy – what is the center of the user’s world? Their home PC, work PC, mobile phone? Is it one device or many?
• How are smartphones challenging mobile PCs? Which market segments are coalescing around which platforms?
• How does PC and online usage vary cross segments such as workplace company size or industry?
• Most-mobile customers – where do they go and what do they do?
• How much have PC users integrated PCs into their personal lives?
• How has the division of work vs. personal use of technology products continued to blur?
• Who’s busiest – desktop users or notebook users? How do their profiles differ?
• Used/Refurbished PCs – who buys them?
• Who is buying the highest-end PCs? Are there brand differences? What else do users buy and what else do they use?
• What are the leading PC brands among Hewlett Packard printer users?  How does this differ for the other major printer vendors?
• How have PC/Online & Mobile Phone activities changed? How might this affect apps?
• What channels do people use for buying PCs? How about printers and printer supplies?
• Age-related market adoption – which products and services are age-skewed? Which are skewed toward older rather than younger users?
• Do PC users behave differently as they gain more experience? Are Newbies or Vets mostly focusing on certain activities versus a broad mixture?
• How does the life and lifespan of a PC vary by form factor? Does it vary by brand? By user segment?
• Which industry groups have varied levels of adoption?
• Do users find their PCs to be more useful or less useful? Which users are the most practically-oriented?
• Who is using mobile payments?
• What is the impact on privacy in use of social networking?
• How is HP’s PC penetration within the overall HP footprint?
• Birth order = brand order? Does top brand have similar draw cross-countries?
• Who is videoconferencing, and using which platform?
• Netbooks – are they replacing notebooks? Stalling smartphones? Withering?
• Which segments are keeping their files, calendars, or other information synchronized or backed up online?
• Do game players bring their gaming with them into the workplace? To what extent? Which market segment does this the most?
• Which operating systems dominate within which segments?
• What are the overall future trends for the Internet?
• iPhone users – who are they really? How do they compare with Android, Windows and Blackberry users?
• What’s typically bundled with a PC?
• Are PC users primarily accessing the Internet at home, in the workplace, using friends or neighbor’s computers, or in public places such as libraries or cybercafés? Which users use other’s PCs and which have many to choose from? Are smartphones or netbooks changing this?
• When do you grow up and give up on your Apple? When do get one again, if you do?
• Which PC brands dominate the PC market? How does this vary within brand segment?
• How many screens do people view? Which market segments view more screens than other segments?
• How much is assisted navigation part of life – and on which platform?
• To what extent have Dell and Lexmark penetrated the printer market? Which segments have they penetrated?
• What is Hewlett Packard’s share among Dell computer owners and Dell or Lexmark printer owners and has this changed?
• How prominent is printing images from mobile phones?
• How do consumer attitudes about purchasing technology differ between Apple, Hewlett Packard and Dell customers?
• Entertainment primacy – what is the center of the user’s home entertainment world? Is it one device or many? Which devices and services, and among which segments?
• What is the mix of communication products and services – landline, wireless, email, IM, etc. – by segment?
• Which tech buyers focus more on retail than shopping online and vice versa?
• How are users communicating, given all their communication options?
• What do users sync or store in the cloud? How does this differ between mobile phones and PCs? How do users share images – social networking sites or photo-specific sites? Which users are the most active?
• Multitasking – who’s using lots of devices for lots of apps, few devices many apps, etc.?
• Which segments are utilizing the cloud? For which activities?
• Is it really one to a customer? How often are PCs shared? Which market segments use more than one PC?
• Which segments are using which devices & carriers?  For which activities?
• What other activities are just outside the box for gamers? Online dating? Social Networking? Music? Movies? Entertainment in general?
• How does Hewlett Packard’s market share differ between the different types of printers (inkjet, multifunction, laser, etc.)?
• What other items (printers, software, monitors/displays, extended service plan, etc.) do people typically buy with their PC purchase?
• Which market segments are renting movies? Are they renting DVDs at a retailer, by mail, or at a kiosk? Do they watch them online?
• What’s the likely near-term outcome for an OS upgrade?
• Which segments are the most music-intensive? What is the overlap of music-centered products and services by segment?
• Which activities are different for dial-up than broadband? What’s driving bandwidth needs?
• Are Apple’s best customers really unique?
• What happens to old PCs? Are they dumped? Recycled? Sold? Which segments dispose in which way?
• Which market segments are dating online? What else do they frequently do online?
• How many and which segments are watching and renting movies on which platforms?
• How social-network active are the various tiers of gamers?
• Special printer paper? Who uses it and what for? Is it only photos, or something else?
• Who are the true early adopters and laggards? How does this vary by actual usage of specific products and technologies?
• What makes a smartphone a smartphone in the consumer’s eyes? How does usage compare to basic mobile phones? What are the user segments?
• Is the smartphone killing PC shopping?
• Which social networking sites are used most frequently by which segments?
• What are consumers planning to buy? (in consumer electronics, connected home, computers, Internet, etc.)
• To what extent does game-playing drive online usage specifically and tech usage overall?
• Which segments have recently paid for a downloaded mobile phone app?
• Tech adoption cycles may not be as fast as the tech-focused think. How many and which users still use film cameras?
• How many people use calendars on their PC, their mobile phone, or both? Which types of people are these?
• Navigation, online maps, location-based mobile phone services, and GPS – who’s getting directions?
• How do ad volumes affect usage?
• Which market segments are blogging? How do they compare to social networkers?
• How tech-sophisticated are game-players, within key gaming segments?
• How do online shopping activities differ between Hewlett Packard, Apple and Dell customers?
• Is social networking only for certain age groups?
• How many seniors are online? How is their behavior different than younger online users?
• What is the tech-owning profile of active gamers? High-bandwidth or dial-up? Many consumer electronics entertainment products or focused on gaming? Many computers or few? How does this vary by segment?

If solid answers any of these questions would help your work in creating the future, please contact MetaFacts.

MetaFacts, Inc. helps technology marketers find and measure their best and future customers.

Current subscribers of  Technology User Profile may obtain this information directly from MetaFacts, as well as additional customized drilling down into the full dataset.

For more information on the results delivered in TUP and about how to subscribe, please contact MetaFacts.

The above questions are answered with the TUP 2010 edition, and even more questions are answered in the TUP 2011 edition.

Consumer opinions on imaging and printing can urge a market toward higher-level technologies in what once seemed like unexpected places for imaging, such as mobile devices.  An increase in camera phone use, or printing images from one’s mobile device might signal both digital camera and smartphone developers to step it up a notch.

Below are a few examples of questions addressed in TUP related to technology consumer demographics. The full TUP service enables drilling down beyond the answers to these questions to identify which other technologies, services and behaviors are disruptive and to profile which market segments are and aren’t adopting. TUP is much more than a one-dimensional market view or opinion piece.

• To what extent have Dell and Lexmark penetrated the printer market? Which segments have they penetrated?
• What is Hewlett Packard’s share among Dell computer owners and Dell or Lexmark printer owners and has this changed?
• What is the breakdown of printer types and brands among workplace PCs users? How does this compare to printers used in the home?
• How is HP’s PC penetration within the overall HP market footprint?
• How rich is the user’s printing experience? Do they use only one printer or more than one? For multi-printer users, which ones do they use? Who are the most-active printer users?
• Tech adoption cycles may not be as fast as the tech-focused think. How many and which users still use film cameras?
• Special printer paper? Who uses it and what for? Is it only photos, or something else?
• Where are printer users buying their printer supplies? Are these the same channels as where they buy their printers?
• How does PC and online usage vary cross segments such as workplace company size or industry?
• Where do people buy their printer supplies?
• What is the frequency of printer consumables purchased?
• Who are the people moving from ink-jet printers to laser printers? How about the other way around? Are these new printers replacement printers, or additional printers?
• What are the leading PC brands among Hewlett Packard printer users? How does this differ for the other major printer vendors?
• What do users sync or “store” in the cloud? How does this differ between mobile phones and PCs? How do users share images – social networking sites or photo-specific sites? Which users are the most active?
• What are the major activities that people do with their printers?
• Who are the people who shop for technology products on the web, but purchase at a local retail outlet?
• What are the most common documents (maps, spreadsheets, photos, etc.) that consumers print on their ink-jet printers? How about their laser printers?
• How prominent is printing images from mobile phones?
• Beyond paper or plastic: which types of ink & toner are printer users buying? New or refilled? Original or competitor?
• How does Hewlett Packard’s market share differ between the different types of printers (inkjet, multifunction, laser, etc.)?
• How much have PC users integrated PCs into their personal lives?
• What other items (printers, software, monitors/displays, extended service plan, etc.) do people typically buy with their PC purchase?
• Which tech buyers focus more on retail than shopping online and vice versa?
• How are users incorporating digital images, through the use of digital cameras, scanners, downloading images, as well as how are they producing output?
• What channels do people use for buying PCs? How about printers and printer supplies?
• How do online shopping activities differ between Hewlett Packard, Apple and Dell customers?
• What peripherals and options do users purchase before they purchase their PC, with their PC, and after they’ve purchased their PC?
• How has the division of work vs. personal use of technology products continued to blur?
• Who is buying the highest-end PCs? Are there brand differences? What else do users buy and what else do they use?
• Entertainment primacy – what is the center of the user’s home entertainment world? Is it one device or many?
• Which segments are keeping their files, calendars, or other information synchronized or backed up online?
• Which segments are utilizing the cloud? For which activities? Image sharing? Storage?
• Do PC users behave differently as they gain more experience? Are Newbies or Vets mostly focusing on certain activities versus a broad mixture? Do they print differently?
• What are the overall future trends for the Internet?
• Who’s busiest – desktop users or notebook users? How do their profiles differ?
• What are consumers planning to buy? (in consumer electronics, connected home, computers, Internet, etc.)
• Is it really one to a customer? How often are PCs shared? Which market segments use more than one PC?
• Is social networking only for certain age groups?
• Do users find their PCs to be more useful or less useful? Which users are the most practically-oriented?
• Which smartphone OS is leading, and with which market segments?
• What about the anti-social – those that aren’t in an online social network? Who are they?
• What’s typically bundled with a PC?
• How many screens do people view? Which market segments view more screens than other segments?

If solid answers any of these questions would help your work in creating the future, please contact MetaFacts.

MetaFacts, Inc. helps technology marketers find and measure their best and future customers.

Current subscribers of Technology User Profile may obtain this information directly from MetaFacts, as well as additional customized drilling down into the full dataset.

For more information on the results delivered in TUP and about how to subscribe, please contact MetaFacts.

The above questions are answered with the TUP 2010 edition, and even more questions are answered in the TUP 2011 edition.

Despite the on-the-go lifestyle of the technology consumer, there’s still a sense that “home is where the heart is.”  It seems that home and work desktop PCs, while no longer the only option, still have a place in the tech-race. As mobile devices develop more PC-like qualities, and as desktops grow out of clunkerhood, each spurs the other on to top the market.

Below are a few examples of questions addressed in TUP related to the PC market. The full TUP service enables drilling down beyond the answers to these questions to identify which other technologies and services are disruptive and to profile which market segments are and aren’t adopting. TUP is much more than a one-dimensional market view or opinion piece, providing access to answers to the following questions as well as many others.

• Primacy – what is the center of the user’s world? Their home PC, work PC, mobile phone? Is it one device or many?
• How does PC and online usage vary cross segments such as workplace company size or industry?
• How much have PC users integrated PCs into their personal lives?
• Which PC brands dominate the PC market? How does this vary within brand segment?
• Age-related market adoption – which products and services are age-skewed? Which are skewed toward older rather than younger users?
• When do you grow up and give up on your Apple? When do get one again, if you do?
• How have PC/Online & Mobile Phone activities changed? How might this affect apps?
• Do users find their PCs to be more useful or less useful? Which users are the most practically-oriented?
• How prominent is Home PC renting versus outright purchase?
• Do PC users behave differently as they gain more experience? Are Newbies or Vets mostly focusing on certain activities versus a broad mixture?
• Used/Refurbished PCs – who buys them?
• Are mobile computers used longer or shorter than desktops? If so, what’s the difference, and who uses them longest?
• What channels do people use for buying PCs? How about printers and printer supplies?
• Who’s busiest – desktop users or notebook users? How do their profiles differ?
• Most-mobile customers – where do they go and what do they do?
• Who is buying the highest-end PCs? Are there brand differences? What else do users buy and what else do they use?
• How is HP’s PC penetration within the overall HP market footprint?
• How are smartphones challenging mobile PCs? Which market segments are coalescing around which platforms?
• What are the leading PC brands among Hewlett Packard printer users?  How does this differ for the other major printer vendors?
• How does the life and lifespan of a PC vary by form factor? Does it vary by brand? By user segment?
• How does Hewlett Packard’s market share differ between the different types of printers (inkjet, multifunction, laser, etc.)?
• What are consumers planning to buy? (in consumer electronics, connected home, computers, Internet, etc.)
• Is the smartphone killing PC shopping?
• Netbooks – are they replacing notebooks? Stalling smartphones? Withering?
• What is the impact on privacy in use of social networking?
• What are the overall future trends for the Internet?
• Which operating systems dominate within which segments?
• How do consumer attitudes about purchasing technology differ between Apple, Hewlett Packard and Dell customers?
• Are PC users primarily accessing the Internet at home, in the workplace, using friends or neighbor’s computers, or in public places such as libraries or cybercafés? Which users use other’s PCs and which have many to choose from? Are smartphones or netbooks changing this?
• Entertainment primacy – what is the center of the user’s home entertainment world? Is it one device or many? Which devices and services, and among which segments?
• How has the division of work vs. personal use of technology products continued to blur?
• Which tech buyers focus more on retail than shopping online and vice versa?
• To what extent have Dell and Lexmark penetrated the printer market? Which segments have they penetrated? What is Hewlett Packard’s share among Dell computer owners and Dell or Lexmark printer owners and has this changed?
• How many online adults use dial-up to go online, and which countries stand out?
• How strong is name-brand dominance?
• Netbooks – how soon and with which market segments?
• Are Apple’s best customers really unique?
• Is it really one to a customer? How often are PCs shared? Which market segments use more than one PC?
• What is the mix of communication products and services – landline, wireless, email, IM, etc. – by segment?
• What’s typically bundled with a PC?
• What’s the likely near-term outcome for an OS upgrade?
• Who are the true early adopters and laggards? How does this vary by actual usage of specific products and technologies?
• Which market segments are dating online? What else do they frequently do online?
• What do most people do with their mobile phone as compared to their PC? Which align with which platforms?
• How many and which segments are watching and renting movies on which platforms?
• What is the tech-owning profile of active gamers? High-bandwidth or dial-up? Many consumer electronics entertainment products or focused on gaming? Many computers or few? How does this vary by segment?
• What other activities are just outside the box for gamers? Online dating? Social Networking? Music? Movies? Entertainment in general?
• How do ad volumes affect usage?
• What other items (printers, software, monitors/displays, extended service plan, etc.) do people typically buy with their PC purchase?
• Who is videoconferencing, and using which platform?
• What types and combinations of consumer electronics are homes using and planning to use?
• How many seniors are online? How is their behavior different than younger online users?
• How tech-sophisticated are game-players, within key gaming segments?
• Do game players bring their gaming with them into the workplace? To what extent? Which market segment does this the most?
• Is social networking only for certain age groups? How different are usage patterns by age?
• How social-network active are the various tiers of gamers?
• Special printer paper? Who uses it and what for? Is it only photos, or something else?
• To what extent does game-playing drive online usage specifically and tech usage overall?
• What do users sync or “store” in the cloud? How does this differ between mobile phones and PCs? How do users share images – social networking sites or photo-specific sites? Which users are the most active?
• How are users communicating, given all their communication options?
• Which activities are different for dial-up than broadband? What’s driving bandwidth needs?
• Which segments are keeping their files, calendars, or other information synchronized or backed up online?
• Tech adoption cycles may not be as fast as the tech-focused think. How many and which users still use film cameras?
• How prominent is printing images from mobile phones?
• Navigation, online maps, location-based mobile phone services, and GPS – who’s getting directions?
• Multitasking – who’s using lots of devices for lots of apps, few devices many apps, etc.?
• Which segments are the most music-intensive? What is the overlap of music-centered products and services by segment?
• What happens to old PCs? Are they dumped? Recycled? Sold? Which segments dispose in which way?
• Are youngsters abandoning (traditional) TV?
• How many people use calendars on their PC, their mobile phone, or both? Which types of people are these?
• How do online shopping activities differ between Hewlett Packard, Apple and Dell customers?
• How important is privacy when getting rid of old computers?
• How many screens do people view? Which market segments view more screens than other segments?

If solid answers any of these questions would help your work in creating the future, please contact MetaFacts.

MetaFacts, Inc. helps technology marketers find and measure their best and future customers.

Current subscribers of Technology User Profile may obtain this information directly from MetaFacts, as well as additional customized drilling down into the full dataset.

For more information on the results delivered in TUP and about how to subscribe, please contact MetaFacts.

The above questions are answered with the TUP 2010 edition, and even more questions are answered in the TUP 2011 edition.

It’s not enough to know that someone may buy your product or service – it’s vital to know who and how many. True technology marketers and researchers know well how important it is to understand their current and future customers.

Often, the fabled early adopters have had a different demographic makeup than expected, causing serious mistakes and disconnects. The changes are far from over.

Below are a few examples of questions addressed in TUP related to technology consumer demographics. The full TUP service enables drilling down beyond the answers to these questions to identify which other technologies, services and behaviors are disruptive and to profile which market segments are and aren’t adopting. TUP is much more than a one-dimensional market view or opinion piece.

• How do the segments of mobile phone platforms vary?
• How many seniors are online? How is their behavior different than younger online users?
• Age-related market adoption – which products and services are age-skewed? Which are skewed toward older rather than younger users?
• Which platforms offer the best opportunity for particular activities? How do segments vary?
• Most-mobile customers – where they go and what they do
• How tech-sophisticated are game-players, within key gaming segments?
• Is social networking only for certain age groups?
• How central is game-playing to the general population? How about within certain key market segments?
• Do PC users behave differently with experience? Newbies vs. Vets
• How tech-experienced are game-players?
• What about the anti-social – those that aren’t in an online social network?
• How much of the game-playing population is older versus younger?
• Which segments are the most music-intensive? What is the overlap of music-centered products and services by segment?
• Are PC users primarily accessing the Internet at home, in the workplace, using friends or neighbor’s computers, or in public places such as libraries or cybercafés?
• How has the division of work vs. personal use of technology products continued to blur?
• How are users migrating from one gaming platform to another? How many are multi-platform and how many focus on a single-platform?
• Which market segments are dating online? What else do they frequently do online?
• Which market segments are blogging? How do they compare to social networkers?
• Which gaming platform dominates with which market segment?
• How big are the key tiers of the game-playing population?
• Primacy – PC-centric, phone-centric, … or BOB? (BOB=Best of Breed) (What is the center of the user’s world?)
• What about the unemployed? Are they more or are they less tech-focused?
• What types and combinations of consumer electronics are homes using and planning to use?
• How do attitudes about software piracy vary within key market segments?
• How many and which segments are watching and renting movies on which platforms?
• Are Apple’s best customers really unique?
• When do you grow up and give up on your Apple? When do get one again, if you do?
• Used/Refurbished PCs – who buys them?
• Who is using mobile payments?
• How much is assisted navigation part of life – and on which platform?
• What makes a smartphone a smartphone (in the consumer’s eyes)
• Navigation, Maps, and GPS – who’s getting directions?
• How do Verizon’s subscribers compare to AT&T’s?
• Netbooks – how soon and with who?
• What’s the likely near-term outcome for an OS upgrade?
• One to a customer? How often are PCs shared?
• Is the smartphone killing PC shopping?
• Which social networking sites are used most frequently by which segments?
• Which segments are utilizing cloud computing? For which activities?
• Online shoppers – are they everyone, or unique?
• Which types of software (packages and SaaS) are used and intended for near-term use? (apps, appstore)
• How many screens do people view?
• iPhone users – who are they really?
• Which activities are different for dial-up than broadband? What’s driving bandwidth needs?
• What are consumers planning to buy? (in consumer electronics, connected home, computers, Internet, etc.)
• What other activities are just outside the box for gamers? Online dating? Social Networking? Music? Movies? Entertainment in general?
• What is the mix of communication products and services – landline, wireless, email, IM, etc. – by segment?
• How important is privacy when getting rid of old computers?
• What are the major activities that people do on their printers?
• Which segments have recently paid for a downloaded mobile phone app?
• How strong is name-brand dominance?
• Who are the people who shop for technology products on the web, but purchase at a local retail outlet?

If solid answers any of these questions would help your work in creating the future, please contact MetaFacts.

MetaFacts, Inc. helps technology marketers find and measure their best and future customers.

Current subscribers of Technology User Profile may obtain this information directly from MetaFacts, as well as additional customized drilling down into the full dataset.

For more information on the results delivered in TUP and about how to subscribe, please contact MetaFacts.

The above questions are answered with the TUP 2010 edition, and even more questions are answered in the TUP 2011 edition.

Or so it seems from a recent MetaFacts Technology User Profile 2009 Global Insights Edition survey of 30,889 online PC-using adults in 16 countries. While nearly two-thirds of the respondents (64 percent) did take pictures with their mobile phones, only 12 percent ever printed out pictures from their mobile phones.

The rate, however, varied from country to country, with people in emerging nations proving to be far more likely to immortalize their phone snapshots on paper. The rate peaked at 24 percent among India’s Upper Urbanites, followed by 23 percent of China’s Urbanites, 20 percent in Mexico, and 17 percent in Russia. The rate bottomed at 6 percent in South Korea and 7 percent in Japan, rising to 8 percent in Holland and the U.S.

Yet, 64 percent of the global respondents did use their mobile phones to take pictures, implying that there are a lot of unprinted pictures out there.

Leading the charge of the cell phone paparazzi were the Saudi Arabians, 86 percent of whom used their phones for taking photos. They were followed at a distance by 77 percent of Mexican respondents, and 76 percent of South Korean and Indian respondents. Those avoiding mobile phone photography were led by the Dutch (55 percent), the Americans (56 percent) and the Germans (57 percent.)

Interestingly, the rate of mobile phone picture printing was roughly an inverse to the national rate of digital camera ownership—although, at 78 percent, most respondents did use a digital camera. For instance, India, which ranked #1 in the rate of mobile phone picture printing, ranked next to last (#15) in terms of digital camera use. China ranked #2 in cell phone picture printing, but #12 in digital camera use. Mexico ranked #3 in cell phone picture printing and #14 in terms of digital camera use.

But it did not work in the other direction—South Korea was dead last (#16) in cell phone picture printing, but a middling #10 in digital camera use.

While we’re talking about digital photography hardcopy, 20 percent of global respondents said they had used kiosks to print their pictures, with those in Mexico leading the way at 31 percent. Retail printing centers were used by a similar 19 percent, and they were most popular in Brazil, where 36 percent used them.

Overall, pictures were more likely to be taken by mobile phones than by digital cameras in India, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia, and the rate was neck-and-neck in Russia. Elsewhere, digital cameras still ruled the pixels.

As for film cameras, globally only 27 percent of the respondents still used them, the leaders being the Indians at 42 percent. At the other extreme, only 18 percent still admitted having them in Japan.

Mobile phone and smartphone photo printing may move from a niche into an everyday activity. Hewlett Packard, who dominates the world in PC printing, has recently released a way to make it easier to print mobile phone images. Their HP iPrint Photo app which makes it easy to quickly print a 4”x6” or 10cm x 15cm image on almost any HP printer through a wireless connection, For now, the app only works on Apple iPhones or iPod touch.

News flash: even more recent updates to this information are available to subscribers to the full Technology User Profile service, the TUP Overview Report, and other TUP Profile Reports.

Source

The results in this TUPdate are drawn from the MetaFacts Technology User Profile Survey. Results specific to this topic can be obtained through a customized report and analysis. The MetaFacts Technology User Profile Overview Edition report is available immediately on www.metafactsstore.com, which covers the broader range of key trends. View findings in 25 pages of executive summary analysis, 200+ pages of charts and graphs, all supported by 95+ pages of detailed tables. The complete, 300+ page report is delivered to you electronically. This edition is for the U.S. based on the 2010 wave of Technology User Profile gathered among a scrupulously selected set of representative respondents, surveyed both online and offline.

To see other research coverage of Internet products and activities – from smartphones to feature phones, desktops to notebooks, social networking, demographics, and attitudes – see the many other questions TUP answers on www.technologyuser.com. Tech market research professionals who want a solid resource they can use immediately after industry events such as mergers, or even use prior to anticipated events, can license direct access to TUP.

About TUPdates

MetaFacts releases ongoing research on the market shifts and profiles for Smartphones, Netbooks, Mobile PCs, Workplace PCs, Home PCs, Web Creators, Broadband, and many other technology industry trends and facts. These TUPdates are short analytical articles in a series of specific topics utilizing the Technology User Profile Annual Edition study, which reveals the changing patterns of technology adoption around the world. Interested technology professionals can sign up at www.metafacts.com for complimentary TUPdates – periodic snapshots of technology markets.

About MetaFacts

MetaFacts, Inc. is a market research firm focusing exclusively on the technology industries. MetaFacts’ Technology User Profile (TUP) survey is the longest-running, large-scale comprehensive study of its kind, conducted continuously since 1983, the year before Apple released the Apple Macintosh. The detailed results are a primary market sizing and segmentation resource for leading companies providing consumer-oriented technology products and services, such as PCs, printers, software applications, peripherals, consumer electronics, mobile computing, and related services and products. TUP analyzes key trends and the data-rich source can be dived into more deeply for custom analysis. For more information about the syndicated research service, analysis tools, publications and datasets, contact MetaFacts at 1-760-635-4300.

When looking at what users actually do with their computers, Apple mobile PC users aren’t really that unique, after all. The top five activities for Apple mobile PC users aren’t any different than those of Windows mobile PC users.

It’s Acer’s mobile users who are distinct, when looking at the main activities. Storing/Scanning photos is a top-five activity only on Acer portables. Another top-five activity – personal finance – is unique to HP & Acer. In Acer’s case, these activities are in lieu of shopping & purchasing online.