[IDC study finds Indian and Chinese mobile phone and smartphone buyers are attracted to more expensive global name brands versus inexpensive low-end models. ]

Framingham, MA -- The results of IDC's recent multiclient study and survey of mobile phone and smartphone subscribers across five countries reveals that top global brands are in demand not only in developed countries such as the U.S., U.K., and Germany, but also in emerging countries such as India and China. The relative influence of brand on product choice (especially in China and India) suggests that many people seek out global brands and the prestige that they carry.

Logic dictates that one would expect to find the This study follows IDC's successful U.S. Mobile ARPU Influencers multiclient, which focused exclusively on proliferation of relatively inexpensive devices and brands in developing countries, but IDC's survey reveals quite the opposite phenomena. Chinese subscribers look more at the brand and style (top two purchase criteria) rather than being concerned with the underlying technology and product features. In India high-end products like the Nokia Communicator 9500 do well precisely because they show off how wealthy and successful an individual is, and users tend to be loyal to the smartphone brands they carry. IDC's survey revealed that 69% of respondents in India were likely to recommend their smartphone brand to others, higher than other countries surveyed, except for the U.S.

"When you look around the world there is a growing prevalence of premium brands in emerging markets among populations with substantially lower income levels," said Randy Giusto, group vice president for IDC's Mobility, Computing and Consumer Markets research. "Brands such as Nokia, for example, dominate the Indian and Chinese markets from a market share perspective and are much sought after because of the image that they project."

The IDC special report, Mobile Device ARPU for Leading Markets: U.S., U.K., Germany, India, and China, A Multiclient Study, explores which key mobile device features, operating systems, and applications influence ARPU, and compare and contrast them among users in five countries -- the U.S., U.K., Germany, India, and China. Data is segmented by mobile phone and smartphone respondents, as well as by smartphone OS, and mobile operator, for each country market surveyed. This document represents a comprehensive study outlining the summarized results of each country, comparing and contrasting results by country, and exploring the role that device features, applications, operating systems, mobile device brands, and mobile operators play across these markets.

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