Pakistan’s situation: 3G available but users connect through Wifi
Study says only a quarter of smartphone users use internet on the go.
KARACHI:
Pakistan embraced mobile broadband technology two months ago but over half of its smartphone users still access the internet through traditional Wifi, according to a post-3G study.
Android is the most popular mobile platform with majority of smartphone users being the younger lot, the study adds.
A majority of Pakistan’s smartphone users, 62.5% to be exact, connects with internet via Wifi mostly from home, while only a quarter of them use internet on the go.
In its study on smartphone usage, Grappetite – a mobile phone application developing company – finds that only 12% of smartphone users live without internet.
The company was founded by Gertjan Van Laar three years ago with its headquarter located in the Netherlands and a production office in Karachi.
With 68% of smartphone users on Android, Google’s mobile operating system dominates the country’s rapidly expanding smartphone market followed by Apple’s iOS (24%) and Microsoft’s Windows Phone (8%), finds the Dutch mobile app maker.
Grappetite’s study, released in the form of info graphics, also reveals that 77% of the country’s smartphone users age ranges between 21 and 30 years – an indication that smart devices are mainly used by the country’s young population. In contrast, those over 41 years of age comprise only 1% of total smartphone users.
The study also found that 41% users had over Rs500 monthly budget for mobile phone usage while 26% had less Rs150 monthly budget for their mobile phone needs. It also found that 60% of people used more than one handset mainly due to security reasons – mobile phone snatching is rampant in Karachi.
When it came to brand popularity, the survey revealed Samsung (34%) was on top followed by iPhone (24%) and Qmobile (21%). On app purchases, it said 16% buy apps regularly while 84% use only free ones.
Among the top five apps used by the respondents, Facebook (90%) was the most popular followed by gaming apps (72%), photo and video (64%), music and entertainment each (55%).
Published in The Express Tribune, July 10th, 2014.
Pakistan embraced mobile broadband technology two months ago but over half of its smartphone users still access the internet through traditional Wifi, according to a post-3G study.
Android is the most popular mobile platform with majority of smartphone users being the younger lot, the study adds.
A majority of Pakistan’s smartphone users, 62.5% to be exact, connects with internet via Wifi mostly from home, while only a quarter of them use internet on the go.
In its study on smartphone usage, Grappetite – a mobile phone application developing company – finds that only 12% of smartphone users live without internet.
The company was founded by Gertjan Van Laar three years ago with its headquarter located in the Netherlands and a production office in Karachi.
With 68% of smartphone users on Android, Google’s mobile operating system dominates the country’s rapidly expanding smartphone market followed by Apple’s iOS (24%) and Microsoft’s Windows Phone (8%), finds the Dutch mobile app maker.
Grappetite’s study, released in the form of info graphics, also reveals that 77% of the country’s smartphone users age ranges between 21 and 30 years – an indication that smart devices are mainly used by the country’s young population. In contrast, those over 41 years of age comprise only 1% of total smartphone users.
The study also found that 41% users had over Rs500 monthly budget for mobile phone usage while 26% had less Rs150 monthly budget for their mobile phone needs. It also found that 60% of people used more than one handset mainly due to security reasons – mobile phone snatching is rampant in Karachi.
When it came to brand popularity, the survey revealed Samsung (34%) was on top followed by iPhone (24%) and Qmobile (21%). On app purchases, it said 16% buy apps regularly while 84% use only free ones.
Among the top five apps used by the respondents, Facebook (90%) was the most popular followed by gaming apps (72%), photo and video (64%), music and entertainment each (55%).
Published in The Express Tribune, July 10th, 2014.