Samantha K is a regular SMS Text News reader. She’s an atypical reader — that is, she doesn’t work for a mobile operator, mobile marketing firm — in fact, she doesn’t work in any mobile related fields. In fact she doesn’t work at all. She’s 16 and a High School student here in the United Kingdom. She’s a Blyk user and she’s got some opinions on the mobile industry. The next time you’re sat in one of those shiny, polished presentations given by a Nike-wearing researcher or marketer, remember Samantha. It ain’t all good news. Almost everything I see or read about the youth of today and their mobile interests is absolute rubbish — and I really like being able to bring you direct, unfiltered opinion from one of the mobile industry’s most important current and future customers — the next generation.
So here we go. Here’s Samantha:
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It would seem implausible to assume that the MP3 giant Apple is shoddy at advertising, wouldn’t it? Well, you would be wrong. In fact, even I was wrong in thinking that Apple had the best marketing mix; the iPod has had amazing results with the aid of some fantastically choreographed dance routines, so what has gone wrong?
Firstly I’ll share with you some results I got from a brief questionnaire I put together consisting of three questions; I asked ten people between the ages of thirteen and sixteen the same questions and here are the results.
The first question “Are you aware that the new iPhone is being released this week?” got the response that only one person was aware of this.
Here are two examples of the responses:
- “I had no idea there was going to be a new iphone”
- “Ermm… ii have no idea :D.”
Secondly, I asked, “How much would you be prepared to pay for a Pay You Go new iPhone?”
Now I got a range of answers for this question, the lowest response being £60, and the highest being £200. The most common result was £150 in which four people responded with.
Lastly I asked, “Do you like the iPhone?”
I asked this because I wanted to know if anyone knew about the upcoming version together with some opinion. Four out of ten people — 40% — like the phone, and the other six didn’t.
Here is a couple of the more in-depth responses I received:
- “Yh i like what it does but its maybe a bit to big.”
- “It’s quite nice but just a bit big.”
- “Not in the slightest.”
… And the best response, “I swear that’s the iTouch?”
Personally I hate the iPhone; I held a lot of respect for Apple, but since they have killed the MP3 market and deserted any idea of originality, and insist on controlling what their customers do with their over-priced products; my respect has since diminished. I also don’t like the layout of the phone, and I don’t like o2, the UK network selling the device here in the UK.
I have a rule that I pay no more than one hundred pounds for any phone, and for the iPhone 3G I would expect to pay something in the region of £80.
Imagine my horror then, when today walking down the high street I walked past the collection of phone shops (they like to huddle together) and I ask an o2 man (who was having a cigarette outside) when I could expect to see the iPhone pay as you go, and how much I would have to pay for it.
“Erm… Maybe around Christmas y’know?”
And the cost?
“Err £350 probably, maybe more”.
Am I going mad? Didn’t Steve Jobs promise it would be $100? I would have expected it sooner too?
So here is the problem with the iPhone: It’s rubbish.
It has a two-mega pixel camera — far from special and in a ridiculous place on the device. It has a touch screen — which infuriates me, it’s an Apple, it’s overpriced, and limited to a horrible network with momentous prices.
No one I know of even owns the “old” iPhone. I haven’t seen a single one in my School, and yet we have around one thousand four hundred students; Not a single one.
I put it to you that the excitement and the hype around the iPhone really isn’t as some here on SMS Text News (and beyond) like to imagine; Okay there are plenty of articles online and on this very site about it, but where is it in the general media? Where is the discussion between young people, who like myself, have plenty of disposable income during the summer? I have yet to see an advert on TV (and I’m watching a lot of television), or any grand opening events that we witnessed last year?
I sense that this time around, Apple doesn’t feel bothered, and in particular, they’re not even bothering to gain the body of the mobile market, the teenagers, and the young people.
In a sense, I’m relieved that Apple, and the iPhone isn’t really chiming with consumers; this means that other brands, whether we love them or hate them, Nokia, Samsung, and Sony just to name a few, still have a market to implement new ideas and gadgetry into. The MP3 market is dead as far as I’m concerned, and I have been hunting for a new one which is not an Apple since the beginning of the year, yet nothing is available for me. Imagine the Mobile market like this? Imagine having no choice other than the iPhone? It’s horrible to even contemplate, and for this reason I want Apple to fail, it’s just I’m surprised that, based on things over the past few weeks, they appear to want to do the same too.
Briefly, thanks to everyone I annoyed with those questions, if anyone would like to see a fuller collection of quotes I gathered, don’t hesitate to contact me.
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And here am I telling everyone and their dog that there should be a good response to the new iPhone — and that the youth market is going to gobble it up.
Fascinating perspective Samantha. Thank you!
As Samantha said, if you’ve got a response or a question, just post it here and she’ll do her best to respond.
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What phone(s) do the other 60% like?
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I should have asked that really...
Samantha.
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Why would you expect to pay £80 for a PAYG iPhone? The only other 16GB music / video phone on the market at present is the Nokia N96 and it retails (without contract) for > £600... At best £80 gets you a small-screen music-only device.
And why can't you find a non-Apple MP3 player? A search on amazon.co.uk gave models from Creative, Samsung, Sandisk and Samsung just on the first page... and that's before you consider Nokia, SonyEricsson, LG or Samsung's mobile phones that feature MP3 players... including those in your £100-phone price range.
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The Nokia N96 may be £600, but look who buys them? It's CEO's or company people... What about the majority of people? It is totally in accessible to the majority of people, and in particular, the young people.
As for the MP3 player, my standards are quite high, and I will admit, I am prepared to pay something in the region of £160 to £180 for my next MP3 player. Firstly it has to have a bare minimum of 30GB, which already emlinates Sony, Sandisk, and Samsung. As for Creative, I'm awaiting a new Zen series model; which will be more of an upgrade (I currently own a Zen Micro). Also, I'm really interested in seeing if Microsoft release their "Zune" over here. It looks lovely, it's a good price, but only in America (unless you buy off the internet, which I don't do).
I have a Sony Ericsson W810i which I'm using as a slight replacement, but I have over 26GB of music, so it doesn't suffice.
Thanks for your comment,
Samantha.
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Samantha.
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I'll have to consider it more. Maybe in the near future.
Samantha.
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restaurant?
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I only got a bank account in May sometime, and I haven't had a proper reason to use it as of yet. Plus, I'm weary of turning into an unconscious shopper. I still have most of my money in cash form; which is around one hundred and fifty pounds, if not more?
I need to put it in my account, but I haven't got around to doing it yet.
Samantha.
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Do you ever pay for stuff with your mobile credit? e.g. Ringtones?
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No, I use MP3's where I can, or create my own. Say I want a short snippet of something for my Text Alert, I'll use Audacity to crop exactly what I want, save it at CD quality, and transfer it myself.
I once bought some credits on Habbo Hotel, but that was when I was about ten or something.
As for anything else, I don't buy what I can get free.
Samantha.
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Of course, you don't get the "Oooooh! Shiny!" of the iPhone, but then, you save a few hundred quid which, when you're stacking shelves on the minimum wage* is very important.
The iPhone is a bit like a luxury sports car; very shiny, very wow, handles beautifully. But all cars go the same speed on the M25 - and all phones make calls and send texts at the same speed. So why spend an insane amount of cash on a Ferrari when a Skoda does everything you need.
T
*Or whatever it is that school kids do, nowadays..
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It screams "look at me, I've paid way too much money for a rubbish contract, and a mid-line phone, that likes to pretend it offers something new... This is what money can buy!" and with that I have to ask, what exactly are you buying?
As for the job thing.... I'm currently unemployed. I got declined jobs at Waitrose and Munch... I'm looking, and sent off my CV (well, the best I could rumble up), and have yet to receive any response!
Thanks for reading,
Samantha.
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Samantha.
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Samantha.
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As for "MP3 giant Apple"... their biggest business is computers not music, developing the hard