Nearly half of urban Chinese intend to buy WAP cellphones, survey says
(28 August 2000) A recent survey found that nearly half of the residents of five Chinese cities intend to buy wireless application protocol (WAP) cellphones within a year.
The survey of more than 7,000 people was conducted in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hangzhou by Linktone.com, a Web site specializing in WAP services, according to the Aug. 23 Wenhui Bao (Wenhui Daily).
It found people to be generally excited by the mobile Internet revolution. In Beijing, more than 90 percent showed interest in the Internet access functions of WAP cellphones, and 72 percent said that they intended to purchase WAP cellphones priced under 3,000 renminbi (US$362.30), while the other 28 percent were willing to consider more expensive ones. In Shanghai, more than 65 percent of those surveyed stated that they would buy WAP cellphones within a year.
WAP cellphones are especially popular among the younger generation. In Shenzhen, 64 percent of the young people interviewed for the survey planned to "upgrade" their cellphones in the next six months. In Shanghai, those under 30 years old believed that wireless Net surfing is the general trend, agreeing with the ever-growing marketing hype.
Lin Ya, manager of Linktone’s marketing division, predicted that by the end of 2001, more than 90 percent of cellphone users will utilize WAP services. |
