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Developing world demands high-tech handsets
Going nutty for Nokias, just like everyone else

By Gemma Simpson

Published: Friday 08 December 2006

Big-brand mobiles and smart phones are in demand in developing as well as developed nations, research from IDC has revealed.

The common assumption is that relatively inexpensive devices and associated brands would be popular in developing nations but IDC's survey reveals the opposite phenomenon.

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The report suggests people in China and India, for example, are seeking out global brands for the prestige that they carry.

In India high-end products such as 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 smart phone brands they carry", according to IDC.

More than two-thirds (69 per cent) of respondents in India were likely to recommend their smart phone brand to others, putting them in second place for word-of-mouth recommendations, behind the US.

Randy Giusto, group vice president for IDC's Mobility, Computing and Consumer Markets research, said brands such as Nokia dominate the Indian and Chinese markets and are much sought after because of the image that they project.