Slim phone has fewer problems than non-slim phones

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2006-08-09 14:03

Seoul--(뉴스와이어)--Slim phones, a recent fad among mobile phone customers, reported superior initial quality compared to regular non-slim handsets. Among slime phones, Motorola RAZR was found excellent.

Marketing Insight, Inc (www.mktinsight.co.kr, CEO: Kim, Jin-Kook), a consumer research company that has been conducting a large scale consumer study on telecommunications every six months, released findings in March 2006 from the survey of consumers who purchased a handset in the past six months (September 2005-February 2006). The study recorded the initial quality of non-slim and slim handsets among camera phones.

The number of initial quality problems (PPH: Problems Per Hundred Handsets, lower PPH scores indicate better quality) of slim phones (518 PPH) was lower than regular non-slim phones (560 PPH) with a statistical difference between the two. This may be due to not just a shorter period of ownership as slim phones have been more recently introduced, but also the successful minimization of problems that may occur in the slimming process.

Looking at the problems of slim phones and regular camera phones by eight categories, initial quality of slim phones is far better than non-slim phones except for the ‘battery/charger’ category. The number of problems may have been reduced in the slimming process, especially so in ‘Exterior’ (-14.1 PPH) and ‘Display’ (-12.0 PPH). ‘Battery/Charger’ is the only category that reported an increase in PPH (+5.6PPH ). A short battery life and excess heat generation from handsets while talking were mainly reported by consumers. A short battery life is explained by a thinner size of battery, which means a reduced number and size of battery cells. Heat generation is caused by compressing the interior parts into smaller space.

In the initial quality rankings, Motorola topped with a score of 403 PPH, followed by LG Cyon (532PPH), Samsung Anycall (537PPH), KTFT EVER (542PPH), and Pantech & Curitel (561PPH). Motorola’s PPH is a whopping 129 PPH lower than the No.2 LG Cyon. Considering the PPH difference between LG Cyon and the bottom ranking Pantech & Curitel is only 29.0 PPH, it can be concluded that Motorola’s initial quality is leading the domestic brands by a large margin.

Looking at initial quality by category, Motorola was BIC (Best in Class), with scores at least 10 PPH lower than the average, in five out of eight categories. Motorola performed particularly well in ‘Exterior’ and ‘Battery/Charger’ with 46.3 PPH and 28.0 PPH less than the average in the respective category. The superiority of Motorola’s exterior comes from the successful application of aluminum alloy which had traditionally been avoided due to concerns over electromagnetic wave interference.

For the remaining three categories, LG Cyon was BIC in ‘Display’, Pantech & Curitel in ‘Camera function/performance’, and KTFT EVER in ‘Additional function’.

Pantech & Curitel was WIC in three categories while Samsung Anycall and LG Cyon were WIC in two categories respectively, and KTFT EVER in one category.
The largest difference between BIC and WIC was shown in ‘Exterior’ (77.8 PPH: Motorola- Samsung Anycall), followed by ‘Battery’ (55.1PPH: Motorola- LG Cyon), and ‘Camera function/performance’ (41.1 PPH : Pantech & Curitel- KTFT EVER).

All the slim phones of Motorola in this study were RAZR (MS 500). Motorola’s RAZR is a great hit, selling more than 50 million units across the world. Motorola’s market share once lagged behind Samsung Anycall but thanks to RAZA it is now bigger than the combined market shares of Samsung Anycall and LG Cyon. The great success of RAZR comes from excellent initial quality. In other words, latest features and design play an important role in the early stage of sales, but the quality of product is crucial to the continuous long-term success.

Marketing Insight Inc (formerly F-inside) provides professional research and consulting services in the fields of mobile telecommunications, automobiles, home appliances, and government elections. The firm’s specialized products include CPQ (Consumer Perceived Quality) measurement and product planning. It is especially known for conducting periodical syndicated studies on telecommunications and automobiles.

웹사이트: http://www.mktingisht.co.kr