The Use of Smartphones
Abstract
Our literature search was not satisfying, so we started a modest exploratory study from
scratch to learn about the use of smartphones among business students in Bahrain and
DePaul University in Chicago. We surveyed the students about the time they daily spend
using different functions on their smartphones and their satisfaction with diverse
smartphone models. We asked how many apps they downloaded and how many they
actually weekly use. We also learned how much they are paying for their monthly plans
and whether and how they synchronize their data on the smartphones. In addition, the
respondents described what they are most satisfied with on their phones and what
design or software change they would make if in a position to do so.
In an unrelated addendum, we describe a fictitious scenario about the future use of
smartphones when these devices would deserve to be so called.
Smartphone use patterns of business students in the U.S. and Bahrain
To get a general sense about the use of smartphones, we surveyed business students in
Bahrain and at DePaul University in Chicago. A description on the questionnaire defined
a smartphone as “a little computer in your pocket that can run software, play media,
connect to the Internet, exchange email, as well as make calls.” Incidentally, it turned out
that making calls is indeed not the dominant use of smartphones.
We used a Web-based survey instrument in Bahrain and invited 120 business students
from Bahrain Institute of Banking & Finance to participate by an email in March 2010.
Forty-three students (or 36%) responded. Their average age was 29.1 years, 32 (or
82%) of them were graduate students, 18 (or 42%) were female, and 34 (or 79%) were
smartphone users. As this was also our pilot test of the instrument, we changed it before
using it in Chicago, which makes comparisons of some usage patterns between the two
samples impossible. In particular, we converted the time spent on different smartphone
functions from a categorical to a scale variable.
We used a printed survey at DePaul University in Chicago, visited several classes in
session, asked students to fill out the questionnaire right away, which assured a virtually
perfect response rate, and collected 134 responses. The students were 26.7 years of
age in average, 80 (or 60%) were graduate students, 50 (or 37%) female, and 110 (or
82%) of responding students were smartphone users. The two sample populations were
quite similar, but the proportion of graduate students in Bahrain was larger and so was
the average age. It is appropriate to mention that just over one-half of the respondents
from Chicago are part-time students. Knowing the DePaul University’s student
population, we can confidently say that most students work outside the University at
least part time. Surprisingly, less that one-half of Bahraini students responded to this
question, but three-quarters of those who did were part-time students. This means that
the findings do not represent the smartphone use of typical students, but are heavily
influenced by students working at least part time.
Manufacturers’ Popularity
Forty-four percent of Chicago students used various Blackberry smartphones, 27.5%
used iPhones, and 10% used various HTC models. Also represented were Palm (3.7%)
and Samsung (2.8%) models, while 2.8% of respondents used more than one
smartphone. All other manufacturers combine for 9.2% of smartphones. In Bahrain,
64.7% of respondents used Blackberries, 14.7% used various Nokia models, 8.8% used
iPhones, and 8.8% used other models, while 2.9% used more than one smartphone.
The dominance of RIM’s Blackberries is much higher in Bahrain sample. The opposite
holds for the iPhone, possibly due to a delayed availability of this model in Bahrain. Also
noticeable is the popularity of Nokia models in Bahrain and much less so in the Chicago
sample, where they were bunched into the “others” category.
Average Daily Use by DePaul University Students
Figure 1 shows how much time in minutes Chicago students spend using different
functions on their smartphones daily. It is hard to believe that they spend on average
almost three hours just on the four top-ranked activities. Obviously, many spend more
than that much. As hinted to earlier, using smartphones to make phone calls is only the
fourth most time consuming activity. The top two are texting and using email, two
asynchronous written communication functions. In addition, the multimedia messaging
service is ranked seventh with an average daily use of additional 20 minutes. We find it
mindboggling that people spend one hundred minutes a day exchanging messages on a
smartphone, a relatively cumbersome device for that purpose. DePaul students also like
to use their smartphones to listen the music stored on their devices, but also music
streamed over the Internet. Besides Web browsing, they spend on average about 24
minutes every day on social networks, such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. They
also use their smartphones as modems to connect their laptops to the Internet.
Figure 1: Average Time Spent Daily on Activities - Chicago Sample.
Playing single-player games concludes the list of top ten ranking activities for the total
daily time spent on smartphones of four hours and 42 minutes. Incredible! We recognize
that a more precise data gathering method is called for to improve the quality of
recording the time spent on the use of smartphones.
As mentioned earlier, the change of scale makes direct comparison of time spent on
different smartphone functions between the Bahrain and Chicago samples impossible.
We can still rank both sets of responses, though, and compare them. The rankings of
the top ten activities are shown in Table 1. We notice little change among the top four
functions except that Web browsing and voice communication switched their positions.
Realizing that the time difference between these two functions among Chicago users is
very small leads to conclusion that the usage patterns among the two sample
populations for the most time consuming functions are virtually the same. As in Chicago,
texting and emailing top the list. Looking further down the lists, using social networks is
also ranked high on both. Chicago students spend more time listening the music,
perhaps because of longer commutes. They also use multimedia messaging service
more as well as using smartphones as modems, a function known as tethering. On the
other hand, Bahraini students use calendar function more and use their smartphone to
transfer files and to communicate using VoIP, as they may be making more international
calls from Bahrain.
Table 1: Ranking of Time Spent Using Various Functions
Rank
U.S. Users
Bahrain Users
1
Texting
Texting
2
Emailing
Emailing
3
Web browsing
Voice communication
4
Voice communication
Web browsing
5
Listen internal music
Using social networks
6
Using social networks
Calendar
7
MMS
Playing single-user game
8
Listen streaming music
Transferring files
9
Use as a modem
Using VoIP
10
Playing single-user game
Listen internal music
Using Patterns
Use of various smartphone functions formed patterns. Within these groupings, functions
were strongly correlated in both Chicago and Bahrain samples. In Chicago, age does not
matter except that the younger users use texting moderately more. However, those who
text, use MMS much more than others; those who browse the Web also use email and
listen to recorded and streaming music much more than others; calendar users also use
email, browse, listen to music, and play multiuser games; and those who read eBooks
also text and use MMS much more than the others.
In Bahrain, females use voice communication more than males. Again, those who
browse the Web also use email much more than others; MMS users also use video
calling and calendar; those who email also play single-user games, listen to recorded
music, and use calendar much more than others; and those who use calendar also use
MMS, email, and play single-user games much more than those who don’t. Some of
these correlations appear obvious, but others may be surprising and call for further
investigations.
Blackberries vs. iPhones
In Chicago, the sample included 48 users of various RIM smartphones, 30 users of
iPhones, and 30 users of various other devices. The comparison between the users of
Blackberries and iPhones is meaningful, as most if not all of the Blackberries were rather
conventional with no touch screens. Grouping all other devices into one group, on the
other hand, does not make much sense due to the variability, but we can still call the
group “other” and see how it compares. The average age of iPhone users was two years
lower than that of Blackberry users and three years lower that the users of other models.
On average, iPhone users spend much less time on voice communication (28 min/day)
than Blackberry users (41 min/day) even though they spend almost exactly the same
amount of time on texting (58 min/day) and less on multimedia messaging (18 vs. 31
min/day) and on emailing (39 vs. 56 min/day). However, they spend more time on Web
browsing (45 vs. 35 min/day), on social media sites (34 vs. 24 min/day) and using GPS
(7 vs. 3 min/day). The iPhone users also spend much more time than Blackberry users
listening recorded (55 vs. 21 min/day) and streaming music (23 vs. 10 min/day).
Satisfaction with Smartphones
The second section of our survey questionnaires used in the USA and Bahrain was
identical, so we were able to combine the data sets. One of the sets of questions
inquired about different aspects of satisfaction with the smartphones. In combined data
sets, we report results for 66 users of Blackberries, 31 users of iPhones, and 10 users of
various HTC models. In this last group of users, the variability of smartphones is
particularly pronounced, and we are clearly comparing apples with oranges. We still felt
that averages would be interested in comparison with the other two groups and can be
used as a proxy for “others” or as a small control group. Figure 2 shows the satisfaction
averages. The first question asked for the level of overall satisfaction with the
smartphone; foci of other questions are evident from the labels. Surprisingly, the iPhone
won in all categories including the ability to type, although only by a fraction. The iPhone
users certainly like the handset and seem to be pretty generous in rating its features and
functions. We asked two open-ended questions: “Please tell us what are you most
satisfied with on your smartphone” and “If you could make a design or software change
to your smartphone, what would you change?” Responses seem to confirm our
suspicion of generous rating of typing on a touch screen by iPhone users. Eight
Blackberry users listed the keyboard as a feature they are most satisfied with and none
of the iPhone users did so. On the other hand, three iPhone users suggested that adding
physical keyboard as a change they would make while six Blackberry users would
improve or add a touch screen and two would increase the size of keys.
Figure 2: Average satisfaction with smartphones.
One wish that never appears among the iPhone users, but is listed seven times among
the Blackberry users is prevention of frequent crashes and instabilities of the operating
system and desire for a shorter reboot time. Also noticeable among the responses from
the Blackberry group are calls for easier apps download, faster operating system,
smaller and thinner device, larger screen, longer battery life, and simply calls to make it
“more like an iPhone.” Among the improvements suggested by iPhone users are better
wireless service or coverage and less dropped calls, both likely related more to the
network operator than the device. Respondents also mentioned that they would make it
more rugged, better protected, and water proof. Some mentioned issues, which the
latest version of the operating system or device already fixed, such as multitasking,
video calling, and better camera. Also mentioned were suggestions for longer battery
life, access to third-party apps, built-in projector, connectivity to external drive, USB port,
Bloetooth functionality to transfer files, and ability to edit Word and Excel files.
Use of Apps
It comes as no surprise that the users of iPhone downloaded and used more apps than
users of other smartphones. Figure 3 shows the averages for the users of Blackberries,
iPhones, and various HTC devices. While the iPhone users actually use less than one
third of the applications they download, the other two groups use about one half.
Figure 3: Use of Apps.
Service
On average, the cost of monthly service is more expensive in the U.S. than in Bahrain.
DePaul students are paying in average $75 for monthly service while Bahraini students
pay only $64. The difference is more dramatic comparing the participation in the family
plans, which in turn makes the disparity in monthly service cost more surprising. While
just about one half of U.S. respondents (49%) participate in family plans, only a small
minority (8%) of Bahraini students do. Very few in both groups are reimbursed for their
wireless service by their employees. Employers fully reimburse 14% of smartphone
users in DePaul’s sample and only 3% of Bahraini students. Partial reimbursement is
more balanced among the two groups – 7% in U.S. sample and 8% in Bahrain. This
means that 79% of students in the DePaul sample pay for the service on their own and
89% in Bahrain.
Synchronization
Figure 4 shows synchronization habits of both sample populations. While a slightly
higher proportion of Bahraini users synchronize their smartphones with home
computers, the opposite is true for those synchronizing in the cloud. Only U.S. users
synchronize their smartphones both with home computers and in the cloud, but only 5%
do so. Proportions of those who do not synchronize their smartphones at all are similar
in both samples – 32% of U.S. respondents and 36% of those from Bahrain.
Figure 4: Synchronization habits.
Addendum: A Look into the Future
An accident slowed down traffic on the expressway, so your smartphone wakes you up
10 minutes earlier, five minutes after it starts the coffeemaker. Before you even woke up,
your smartphone checked you in for the previously reserved afternoon flight to Tampa,
Florida, and retrieved the mobile boarding pass. As you enter the bathroom, light comes
on and a few moments after you utter “start the shower,” the water, adjusted to your
preferred temperatures, starts pouring. As you leave the bathroom, the smartphone
considers your schedule and, knowing that other family members prefer the other
bathroom, turns down the lights and adjusts the heating.
Before you dress and pack your luggage, you ask the phone to read the weather
forecast. It recites the weather information for your hometown for today and tomorrow
afternoon, as well as for Tampa, again for both today and tomorrow. Before leaving, you
request that the smartphone runs through your schedule for today. That reminds you to
download to the phone the presentation you will deliver in late morning. Descending to
the basement, you order the smartphone to guide you to your office using the fastest
route. Your car starts, the garage door opens and you are off on your way to downtown
office.
After your morning presentation, quick lunch, and some other meetings, your
smartphone signals that you should leave and drive to the airport in 10 minutes
considering the traffic situation and flight schedule adjustments. As you park your car at
the airport, the smartphone registers the location and locks your car. You walk to the
terminal, clear security, and get directed to the gate by the smartphone. Although you
have several unread books on your phone, you buy a novel in a paperback, as you still
prefer the feeling of printed books. You pay for it by your phone, which requires you to
authenticate yourself by voice, so you say: “approved.”
In Tampa, you will meet Frank Still, an important customer, for the first time. As you wait
to board the plane, you ask the phone to introduce Frank to you. It has already
researched the corporation’s Web site, your company’s CRM system and social
networks, and accumulated and summarized his information. The smartphone presents
Frank’s latest photo and most relevant information about his position at the company, his
family, his interests and hobbies, and recent history of your company’s communications
with Frank. Before you go through it all, the phone signals that the boarding has started,
so you approach the gate, show the mobile boarding pass once again, and walk on a
plane.
After your arrival to the Tampa airport, the smartphone leads you to the location of the
car you rented by signing the contract electronically in advance. At the exit, you show
the renting pass and your smartphone guides you to your hotel.
As you enter the reception area at Frank’s company next morning, he immediately
recognizes you and invites you to follow him to a small conference room. After smalltalking about your uneventful trip to Florida and Frank’s beloved University of South
Florida basketball team, you transition to a discussion of Frank’s frustration with your
company’s service. You pull out your smartphone and ask for permission to record this
part of conversation. You then activate the recording function and a transcript of the
conversation is communicated to your home office in real time. Your associates engage
in needed research, formulate a couple of alternatives to resolve the issues, and signal
to your smartphone that they are ready to virtually meet Frank. He powers on the
TelePresence equipment and responds to an invitation to a session from your home
office. In less than one hour, the steps and milestones to resolve the service-related
issues are agreed upon and documented.
After a nice lunch with Frank, your phone confirms the on-time departure and checks
you in to your flight back home. As it guides you back to the airport, your phone dials the
car radio to a local classical radio station. A thought that it deserves to be called a
smartphone crosses your mind.