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Consumers getting attracted to larger mobile screens: TMI Survey

In January this year, 2.9 inch was the average screen size searched by consumers as compared to 3.6 inch screens searched in August.

Indians seem to think that bigger is better, certainly when it comes to the screen size of their mobile phones. This was revealed by a survey of The Mobile Indian (TMI) in which the online preferences of over one million people who visited the website in August were analysed.

Consumers getting attracted to larger mobile screens: TMI Survey
In January 2012, data from The Mobile Indian showed that the average screen size among the 25 most searched phones was 2.9 inches. In the latest monthly survey, however, that size has risen substantially to 3.6 inches among the Top 25 handsets.

Commenting on the phenomenon, a spokesperson for The Mobile Indian says, "Indian telecom service providers reduced 3G tariffs by up to 60 per cent in May 2012 to push data consumption. Now, with the availability of 4-inch screen phones at an affordable price, it looks like consumers want to experience faster data speeds on larger mobile screens."

In this month's edition of the Hotlist, Nokia is back on top with its Asha 305, followed close behind with its stable mate, Asha 311. This shows that Windows has not been able to turn the fortunes of Nokia in India so far but the affordable range of Java-based Asha series of phones has got consumers excited.

Incidentally, since December 2011, when Nokia made its Asha and Lumia series phones available, at least one handset of the Asha series has made it to each TMI survey list till date. On the other hand, Windows operating system-based Nokia Lumia series of smartphones featured in just five lists.

LG phones rarely appear in the hotlist but this time its Optimus L3 E405 performed strongly to land at No. 3. Unusually, the next two ranks went to two other brands, to HTC Desire VC and Sony Neo L, respectively. The leader in August in the Handset Hotlist, Samsung Galaxy S III, lost nine positions and became the 10th most searched phone from a list of around 2000 handsets listed on the website.

Interestingly, Android-based handsets seem to be top of mind among Indian consumers. This month's Handset Hotlist saw 12 new entrants, of which nine were Android-based handsets and three were feature phones.

Over the months, The Handset Hotlist has been dominated first by Nokia and more recently by Samsung, to the detriment of other brands in the business. However, in September 2012, handsets from eight brands have made it: nine of the top 25 handsets are from Samsung, four each from Micromax and Sony Mobiles, three from Nokia, two from LG Mobiles, and one each from Spice Mobiles, HTC and Karbonn. Remarkable too is the fact that three Indian brands have got into this prestigious list.

The spokesperson further adds, "Android based dual SIM smartphones are also gaining popularity. Ten of the 13 dual SIM phones that made it to the list this month are Android-based."

Top 25 Handset Hotlist for September 2012

Rank Aug Last July Change Model Popularity Index Price (in Rs.) OS Screen Size Dual SIM
1 5 4 Nokia Asha 305 100.0 4670 Java 3 Yes
2 NA NEW Nokia Asha 311 94.7 6550 Java 3 No
3 NA NEW LG Optimus L3 E405 64.6 8300 Android 3.2 Yes
4 NA NEW HTC Desire VC 60.8 20950 Android 4 Yes
5 10 5 Sony Xperia Neo L 53.3 18100 Android 4 No
6 13 7 Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos 47.6 12000 Android 3.5 Yes
7 6 -1 Samsung Galaxy Y Duos 45.3 8490 Android 3.2 Yes
8 12 4 Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus 39.5 15500 Android 3.65 Yes
9 21 12 Samsung Galaxy S Advance 38.1 19500 Android 4 No
10 1 -9 Samsung Galaxy S III 38.0 38000 Android 4.6 No
11 NA New Nokia Asha 306 37.9 NA Java 3 No
12 11 -1 Samsung Star 3 Duos WiFi 36.0 5390 Java 3 Yes
13 15 2 Samsung Wave Y S5380 32.6 6930 Bada 3.2 No
14 9 -5 Samsung Galaxy Pocket 32.0 6700 Android 2.8 No
15 19 4 Samsung Galaxy Ace S5830 31.3 11000 Android 3.5 No
16 NA NEW Karbonn A9 30.0 9490 Android 3.8 Yes
17 20 3 LG Optimus L5 29.5 12500 Android 4 No
18 NA NEW Micromax A44 Superfone 29.5 4500 Android 3.2 Yes
19 NA NEW Sony Xperia P 29.4 24700 Android 4 No
20 NA NEW Sony Xperia Ion 28.9 36000 Android 4.5 No
21 23 2 Sony Xperia U 27.9 16100 Android 3.5 No
22 NA NEW Micromax Superfone A100 Canvas 26.9 10000 Android 5 Yes
23 NA NEW Spice Stellar Craze Mi355 26.7 6599 Android 3.5 Yes
24 NA NEW Micromax X454 26.1 3000 Java 3.2 Yes
25 NA NEW Micromax Superfone A90 25.3 12990 Android 4.3 Yes
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