Nokia still rules the minds of Indians: TMI survey

The Mobile Indian has released the findings for its first ‘The Handset Hotlist’, based on a survey of online preferences, last month. The goal of The Handset Hotlist research initiative is to give marketers a monthly insight into changing consumer preferences.

The Handset Hotlist, to be released each month, is brought out by The Mobile Indian, the country’s fastest growing B2C site for the mobile consumer by afaqs!. The list is based on the surfing patterns of more than 6.7 lakh unique visitors who visited the site in June 2011, and searched for and viewed information about mobiles on the site’s Handset Guide which lists nearly 1,000 models.

Nokia continues to rule the minds of consumers in India. Though the business press is full of articles about the competitive pressure the Finnish brand faces, Indian consumers still trust and love the brand, and its rivals still have a long way to go before beating it on buyer affection. According to The Handset Hotlist for July 2011, 12 of the 25 most exciting mobile handset models are from Nokia. Samsung follows next, with six models (one of which is a CDMA phone), while Micromax and Sony Ericsson figure on the list, with two models each. A model each from Dell, HTC and iPhone complete the list of 25.

Nokia C5-03 (Rs 8,600) was overwhelmingly the most exciting handset for visitors to the ‘The Mobile Indian’. Visitors are typically male, under 34 years. The model was searched for and viewed about 40 per cent more than the No. 2, Nokia C6 (Rs 12,200), which was followed at No. 3 by another stablemate, Nokia X7 (Rs 18,000). Samsung Galaxy Ace S5830, priced at Rs 14,700, intrigued visitors at No. 4, and was followed by Nokia X3-02 (Rs 7,500). Samsung has two other models figuring among the top 10.

Apart from Nokia and Samsung, the only other brand to feature among the top 10 is Micromax, whose models A70 and X560 figure at No. 8 and No. 10 positions, respectively. Sreekant Khandekar, director, The Mobile Indian, said, “This is a very exciting pack of information, the most comprehensive one publicly available on what the consumer wants. Ranking apart, The Handset Hotlist will also give marketers a monthly insight into changing consumer preferences.”

The list is dominated by international brands, and barring Micromax, none of the popular Indian brands features among the top 25.

Throwing light on this trend, Khandekar said, “Presumably, buyers of handsets marketed by Indian players, who usually make low-cost mobile phones, tend to seek information from the dealer rather than surf for information online. BlackBerry is a notable absentee too, probably because the models are few and potential buyers of the brand know what they want. Also, many get a BlackBerry on office account, and have a lower need to check for it online.”

Interestingly, consumer interest is not dictated by price. That is why handsets like the Nokia Oro (No. 9, Rs 50,000) and iPhone (No. 14, Rs 34,400) rub shoulders with Nokia X2-01, which costs a mere Rs 3,500, and sits at No. 11 this month. Seventeen of the handsets are priced below Rs 10,000.