After yesterdays BBC report found that most people believe mobile phones to be one of the worst inventions ever we are told today that mobile users are complaining about phones having too many functions they never use.
The CMO Council has carried out the research, which was released this week in Barcelona, in partnership with the GSM association and Palm Inc.
15,000 consumers in 37 countries were surveyed and the most common complaint was about the number of functions as well as disappointments in teh buying and owning experience. Notably, consumers were scathing of retailers for lack of product demonstrations, sales associate knowledge, as well as slow service.
The main findings are:
- Internet destinations have eclipsed friends and family as the most important source for researching and selecting devices
- Function fatigue and feature frustration among users will challenge device makers to improve usability and education
- Americans and Western Europeans are most bothered by loud cell phone conversations
- There is a new generation of mobile technology power users in developing nations
- Global mobile users, particularly in developing countries, are willing to pay for a wide range of mobile content and service offerings
- Pain begins at point-of-purchase as users see lack of demos, product knowledge and slow service as problematic at retail
- Cost of service along with poor battery life tops the Irritation Index globally
- Paranoia of phone and data loss/theft is a key concern along with the annoyance of disconnects and drop-offs
This research clearly leads on to the next question, “What do customers want?” Most manufacturers are happily adding new features and making the thinnest phones but is this what people really want from a phone?
According to the study the following modifications are considered most important:
- 1. Upgrade memory and storage
- 2. Reduce the size of the phone
- 3. Improve design and styling
- 4. Make the device simpler and easier to use
- 5. Improve voice quality.
