Like people in the Western hemisphere, Chinese mobile users are getting excited about apps as well. According to a recent study by TNS Technology, when asked to choose the single most important factor in their next purchase, 32% of Chinese consumers chose Content and Applications as their first choice, narrowly behind the brand of handset available (41%) and well ahead of the brand of network provider (3%).
The importance of content and applications is one of the highest ratios in the world and well ahead of markets like the Germany (16%), USA (10%) and Japan (3%), only second to Malaysia (35%). A further 21% still considered Content and Applications as important to them, even if it is not their primary decision factor.
In terms of brands, social networking and search brands currently rule consumer minds, though lagging behind some handset manufacturers and network providers. In China, the most popular non-handset brands are Baidu and Kaixin, just like the case of Google and Facebook in western markets.
Moreover, the study claims that 16% of mobile users in China check and update social networking sites through their mobile phone and a further 19% say they are very or quite interested in using this service in the near future.
[Via: CellularNews]