ZDC: 2011 Android Phone User Behavior Research Report

1. Market Overview and Research Background

Google Android has played a role as a disruptor in the competitive landscape of the smartphone market since it gained support from many brands such as Motorola, Samsung, HTC, ZTE, and Huawei. After nearly three years of development, the latest data from Gartner shows that in the second quarter of 2011, mobile terminals equipped with the Android smart operating system platform accounted for more than 40% of the global smartphone market, replacing Symbian as the undisputed leader.

In addition, with the development of mobile terminals such as smart phones and tablet computers, the number of mobile Internet users and the market size are also growing rapidly. According to Analysys International data, in the second quarter of 2011, the number of mobile Internet users in China reached 369 million, a month-on-month increase of 7.6% and a year-on-year increase of 72.3%. According to iResearch data, in the second quarter of 2011, the scale of China's mobile Internet market reached 7.79 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 93.8% and a month-on-month increase of 20.9%. The explosive growth momentum of China's mobile Internet market is evident.

In order to gain a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the purchasing behavior of Android phone users, the characteristics of mobile Internet usage, and the willingness of non-Android phone users to purchase Android smartphones in the near future, the Internet Consumer Research Center ZDC conducted this prize-winning survey. The questionnaire was posted on the ZOL homepage and Sina Weibo from September 3 to September 12, which lasted for 10 days. A total of 2,391 questionnaires were collected. Through filtering and screening of information such as IP addresses, registered email addresses, and completeness of answers, a total of 2,323 valid questionnaires were obtained, with a questionnaire efficiency of 97.2%. Based on these first-hand survey data, ZDC wrote the "2011 China Android Phone User Survey Research Report" in order to provide reference basis and strategic support for all parties in the market.

The survey report formed by this investigation is divided into three parts. The first part is the "2011 Android Phone User Purchasing Behavior Research Report", which provides an in-depth analysis of the purchasing behavior of Android phone users. The second part is the "2011 Android Phone User Usage Behavior Research Report", which focuses on the usage and Internet behavior of Android phone users. The third part is the "2011 Non-Android Phone User Purchasing Behavior Research Report", which analyzes the upcoming purchasing behavior of non-Android smartphone users from the aspects of purchasing intention and purchasing tendency.

Key data of the report:

● 71.6% of Android phone users use their Android phones to access the Internet multiple times a day, and another 20% of users are uncertain about the frequency of using their Android phones to access the Internet every day.

● In terms of network access methods, 30.5% of Android phone users said they access the Internet through a combination of GPRS+Wifi. This shows that 3G's influence among Android phone users is still not as strong as traditional 2G.

● Regarding the use of mobile Web and mobile applications, 46.3% of Android phone users indicated that the usage ratio of the two is about the same.

● In terms of the channels for obtaining Android mobile applications, 63.4% of users said they downloaded them through third-party channels, such as Jifeng, Android, and Mumayi.

● The digital content most commonly downloaded by Android phone users is concentrated in two categories: games and tools, with download proportions of 29.2% and 25.7% respectively.

● For the top five digital content downloaded by Android phone users, there are large differences in the download ratios between male and female users, and there are also significant differences in the download ratios among users of different age groups.

● 64.2% of Android phone users download and use digital content completely for free, and 64.1% of users do not spend any money on digital content every month.

● 62.3% of Android phone users think that Android smartphones are relatively good in terms of touch/multi-touch technology, followed by the convenience and fluency of mobile phone operation and the mobile phone browser experience. There are certain differences in the satisfaction of male and female users with several important functions of Android smartphones.

● 86.8% of Android phone users are highly satisfied with the models they use.

Page 2: Survey on Internet access frequency among Android phone users

2. Survey on Internet Access Frequency of Android Phone Users

1. Frequency of Internet access among Android phone users

More than 70% of users use Android phones to access the Internet multiple times a day

The ZDC survey results show that Android phone users use their phones to surf the Internet more frequently. 71.6% of users use their Android phones to surf the Internet multiple times a day, which is 10.2 percentage points higher than Apple iPhone users and basically the same as HTC phone users.

The rich software applications and convenient Internet access of smart phones make full use of users' fragmented time, and users' entertainment and Internet needs can be met anytime and anywhere. This is also the direct reason for the rapid growth of the smart phone market.

2. Internet access methods for Android phone users

30.5% of Android phone users use GPRS+wifi to access the Internet

According to ZDC survey data, although 3G has been promoted in China for more than two years, the usage of users, especially smartphone users, is still not optimistic. The network access method commonly used by Android phone users when using mobile phones to access the Internet is GPRS + wifi, accounting for 30.5%. In addition, the proportion of users who use GPRS network access has reached 19.5%, nearly 20%, and the total proportion of these two methods is 50.1%. The total proportion of users who use 3G or 3G combined network access is 36.8%, which is nearly 15 percentage points lower than the GPRS method under the traditional 2G network.

III. Survey on Digital Content Usage among Android Phone Users

1. Android phone users’ mobile application and mobile web usage trends

46.3% of Android phone users said they use mobile apps and mobile web at about the same rate

The abundance of mobile applications is another major reason for the continued growth of Android phone users. According to ZDC survey data, 46.3% of Android users said that they use mobile applications and mobile Web in similar proportions. However, 37.6% of users still said that they use mobile applications more. Only 16.1% of users said that they use mobile Web more.

(Picture) When using your Android phone, do you use mobile apps more or the mobile Web more?

Page 3: Application download channels for Android phone users

2. Channels for Android phone users to download and use Android mobile applications

● No.

Third-party channels are the mainstream channels for Android phone users to download Android mobile application software.

According to ZDC survey data, among the many Android mobile application software download channels, the largest proportion of users download and use Android mobile application software through third-party channels, such as Jifeng.com, Android.com, Mumayi.com, etc., reaching 63.4%. The second largest proportion is users who download through PC assistants, such as Wandoujia and Jingling, accounting for 48.1%, nearly half. The proportion of users who download and use through other channels is relatively low, all below 30%.

3. Digital content most frequently downloaded by Android phone users

Games and tools are the two most commonly downloaded digital content types.

According to ZDC survey data, among nearly 20 categories of digital content, the most frequently downloaded digital content by users is mainly games and tools, accounting for 29.2% and 25.7% respectively. The second to fifth three categories of digital content are news, music and social networking, but the download ratio of these three categories of digital content is relatively low, all below 10%.

(Picture) What types of digital content do you download most often?

4. Comparison of the most frequently downloaded digital content by gender

Among the five digital content that users download and use most frequently, there are certain differences in the download ratios of users of different genders.

ZDC survey data shows that among the five most frequently downloaded digital content by Android phone users, there is a significant difference in the download ratio between male and female users. The cumulative download and use ratio of male users for the top five digital content categories is 75.9%, while that of female users is 81.1%, more than 80%. The download ratio of female users in games, music, and social digital content is significantly higher than that of male users, and the download and use ratio of male users in tool content is higher than that of female users.

Page 4: Application payment status of Android phone users

5. Comparison of the data content most frequently downloaded by users of different ages

Among the five digital content that users download and use most frequently, there are significant differences in the download ratios among users of different ages.

ZDC survey data shows that among the five digital content most frequently downloaded and used by Android users, there are significant differences in the download and use ratios among users of different age groups. Up to 57.6% of Android phone users under the age of 18 most frequently download game digital content, while the proportion of users of other age groups downloading game content is 30% or less. Users aged 18-35 have a relatively balanced download and use ratio of game and tool digital content. Users aged 36-45 and above 45 are more inclined to download and use tool digital content.

6. Payment for downloading and using digital content by Android phone users

More than 60% of digital content downloaded and used by Android phone users is free

Compared with users in Europe and the United States, Chinese PC and mobile phone users prefer to use free digital content. According to ZDC survey data, more than 60% of Android phone users download and use digital content that is completely free, and another 29.4% of users use most of the digital content for free. The cumulative proportion of users who use a large amount of free content and a small amount of free content is only 6.4%. The proportion of users who spend zero money on digital content each month is consistent with this, accounting for more than 60%.

4. User satisfaction ratings on the Android models they use

1. Users’ evaluation of the mainstream functions of Android phones

Android phone users rate touch/multi-touch technology highly

According to the ZDC survey, in the nine mainstream functions and designs of Android smartphones, users have a relatively high evaluation of their touch/multi-touch technology. 62.3% of users believe that their models are relatively good in this aspect. The proportion of users who think that the convenience and smoothness of mobile phone operation and the mobile phone Internet browser experience are relatively good is 57.4% and 52.5% respectively. The proportion of users who choose other aspects is less than 50%.

(Picture) In which of the following aspects do you think your Android smartphone performs better?

Page 5: Users' overall evaluation of their Android phones

2. Comparison of evaluations of mainstream functions of Android phones by users of different genders

There are obvious differences between male and female users in their evaluation of the mainstream functions of Android phones

According to ZDC survey data, 75.5% of female Android phone users think that the touch/multi-touch technology of their phones is good, which is nearly 14 percentage points higher than that of male users. Among male Android phone users, except for the fact that the convenience and smoothness of Android phone operation are good, the proportion of male users who choose other functions is lower than that of female users.

3. Users’ overall evaluation of their Android phones

More than 80% of users give high evaluation to the Android models they use

According to the ZDC survey data, 24.5% of users are very satisfied with their Android phones, and 62.3% of users are relatively satisfied with their models. 11.2% of users give an average rating, and only 1.9% of users are relatively dissatisfied or very dissatisfied. It can be seen that users have a good overall experience using Android phones.

4. Comparison of satisfaction ratings of Android phones used by users of different genders

Different genders have different evaluations of satisfaction with Android phones

ZDC survey data shows that, overall, more than 80% of both male and female users rate their Android models highly, with female users rating them higher, with 91.8% rating them relatively satisfied or very satisfied, more than 5 percentage points higher than male users. In addition, more than 30% of female users rate their models very satisfied, 6.3% higher than male users.