Tag: mobile industry

Mobile technology in China is fueling innovation

| January 22, 2015

At the moment, this industry makes up about 4 percent of the gross domestic product of that country.

According to a report that has been recently published, mobile technology makes up approximately 4 percent of the gross domestic product of China, as the country now has enough innovators within that industry to include itself among the highest in the world.

Around the globe, only the United States and South Korea have more mobile tech inventors than China.

This, according to a report that was issued by the Boston Consulting Group. It also stated that beyond mobile technology, China is watching a considerable increase in its community of app developers. It has been estimated that there are about 1 million people who are currently employed within the rapidly growing mobile application field. This is over twice the number of people who are working in that field in the United States.

It is clear that China has stepped onto the wave of mobile technology and plans to continue to ride it.

Mobile Technology - InnovationAccording to the report, “China has become a highly competitive place to import and assemble components into finished products, allowing the country to tap into its strong manufacturing base.” At the moment, the report says that the mobile tech sector in the country represents 3.7 percent of the country’s GDP. Moreover, its compound annual growth rate from 2009 through last year was recorded to be 17.7 percent.

The report stated that on a global scale, the mobile tech revolution is headed toward the next trillion dollar market. As the largest smartphone market, China has been rapidly improving its market share in areas that have higher value. The report also included the results of a survey that included the participation of 7,500 individual customers, as well as 3,500 small and mid-sized companies. The participants – both business and individuals – were from six different countries, including the United States, China, and India.

The mobile technology report expressed that “With the success of companies in the device space, as well as telecom equipment manufacturers, Lenovo Group Ltd.’s recent acquisition of Motorola has further strengthened China’s capabilities in mobile innovation.”

Most U.K. mobile technology owners are paying too much for plans

| January 20, 2015

A recent report has shown that 70 percent of consumers pay more than necessary for talk, text, and data.

Research by European firm, Consumer Champion, has indicated that between two thirds and three quarters (70 percent) of consumers in the United Kingdom are paying more than necessary for mobile technology services such as calling, text, and data plans.

It pointed out that many are paying for more services than they require and are locked into 24-month contracts.

Others, particularly children, have mobile technology service plans that are two low for their usage. This means that parents run the risk of regularly running up additional charges when they have exceeded their plan limits. The results of the study showed that an estimated 77 percent of consumers in the U.K. could be saving a minimum of £50 (around US$75) per year by changing their contracts. However, it also underscored the fact that there are some service providers that make it very challenging to switch, as they apply a charge to unlock handsets.

The result is that families across the country are paying billions of pounds too much for their mobile technology service.

Mobile Technology - UK smartphone owners pay too muchThe average savings, according to Consumer Champion, for seven out of every ten people, could be an average of about £159 (around US$240) each, simply by choosing a contract that better reflects their actual needs. For families that are paying for mobile service on four smartphones, that could bring about an annual savings of over £600 (about US$900), which is certainly nothing to laugh at.

Among the causes for the selection of the wrong plan by consumers is that the majority of smartphones – for example the Samsung Galaxy and Apple iPhone models – are sold along with 2-year contracts that require users to pay a monthly fee in order to cover their service and the cost of the handset, but that have a limit to the number of calls, text, and data usage that are included.

As many mobile technology users are on plans that will charge them more when they exceed the capped amount of calls, text, and data – particularly in the case of children – additional fees are run up that make the service far more costly than it would have been if they had upgraded their plans to something that covers a larger amount of service.