News
MWC: Mobile music soars in China
Stuart O'Brien Feb 11 2008, 8:46am
Thirty-five per cent of mobile users listen to music on their handsets, says M:Metrics.
The figures from a survey carried out in November and December also show that ten per cent of mobile users in China have downloaded and played a mobile game.
M:Metrics also found that while Nokia has a substantial lead in terms of share of handset owners in China, at 30.9 per cent, owners of Sony Ericsson handsets are a driving force for content.
For example, Sony Ericsson device owners are 1.7 times more likely to send a photo message, and almost twice as likely to browse mobile Internet content compared with the market average.
Similar to the European and US markets, 18-34 year-olds are the biggest consumers of mobile content in China, accounting for 64.6 per cent of those who accessed news and information via their mobile browser.
News is the most popular genre of information accessed on the mobile browser, followed by entertainment information and sports.
Seamus McAteer, senior analyst at M:Metrics, said: "While 34.8 per cent of total mobile subscribers listened to music on their device, nearly 60 per cent of Sony Ericsson handset owners consumed mobile music in December. Competing global handset brands such as Motorola, Nokia and Samsung also significantly outperform native brands in terms of being used to consume mobile content. These companies are well positioned in a market where operators are seeking to grow mobile content in preparation for the roll out of 3G networks."
