Nearly half the residents in five major Chinese cities intend to buy a WAP-enabled phone within the next six months, while the other half plans to do so within a year, according to a new survey by Linktone. Linktone (www.linktone.com, wap.linktone.com) is China’s leading wireless internet service, providing both WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) and SMS (Short Messaging Service)-based applications for China’s mobile phone users. Accessible via cellular phones, PDAs, and traditional PCs,
Linktone delivers personalized, location-specific information news, entertainment, and messaging functions, exemplifying the “anytime, anyplace” nature of the wireless internet. The Linktone survey is the most comprehensive study yet of wireless internet demand in China, with more than 7,000 responses. Users in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hangzhou expressed excitement about the coming mobile internet revolution, with an average of 45% saying they planned to buy a WAP phone within the next six months and the remainder indicating they would do so within a year. In addition, more than 75% were aware of the ability to send and receive short messages and access other services with SMS functionality available on their current handsets.
“Our extensive survey of the major potential markets in China suggests more than 90 percent of mobile phone users here could be using WAP services by the end of 2001,” said Shelly Lin, head of marketing for Linktone. “Given the dramatic growth in SMS we are already seeing in China, the upgrade to WAP phones will broaden the demand for superior wireless internet services.” In Beijing, 92% of almost 3,000 respondents surveyed said they were excited about using WAP services. Among residents under 30 years old, 72% said they would buy a WAP phone if it cost less than RMB 3,000 (US $360), while 28% said they would be willing to spend more.
The survey polled an additional 1,622 people in Guangzhou, 1,682 in Shanghai, 456 in Hangzhou, and 300 in Shenzhen. Although responses in these cities were comparable to those in Beijing, some numbers varied by region.
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