BlackBerry today announced the full details of the BlackBerry Z10 and Q10 devices – its new devices that will be running on the brand new BlackBerry 10 operating system.  Little information was given about the hardware; however we were told that the Z10 has a 4.2-inch touchscreen (which is in line with smartphone user requirements) and the Q10 keeps the full BlackBerry QWERTY physical keyboard – so consumers will have options.

From the hands-on experience I had with the device, plus what was shown during the launch demos, BlackBerry 10 has a very sleek UI. Transitions are slick, and it looks great - you can see the work that has gone into it from The Astonishing Tribe (the design capability that RIM gained via its acquisition of TAT).

BlackBerry Flow and Peek provide users with a real-time multi-tasking experience. This has been designed to provide a very innovative experience, and is something that has the potential to be extremely useful for the end user - they can now quickly glance at updates in the BlackBerry Hub before deciding whether to move to the Hub, or continue with what they are already doing.

One of the biggest challenges that BlackBerry needs to overcome is the potential steep learning curve that a gesture driven UI provides. BlackBerry has consciously decided not to include a 'home' key, and in the short time I used the device, every time I wanted to end an application and find my main menu of apps, I found myself looking for this key. The other challenge with gestures is their intuitiveness, and how easy they are to discover. I am told that a tutorial at the start will help users to discover and learn these gestures, as well as educational advertising, and that once familiar, navigation and accessing applications is quick and straightforward.

The other big challenge is the ecosystem. BlackBerry has been working extremely hard to help develop this, and at launch, BlackBerry 10 will have around 75,000 apps available. This is a great number for the launch of a new platform, but is still lacking considerably behind Apple and Android - will consumers be prepared to give up their current platform and switch to a less complete eco-system?

On the face of it, BlackBerry 10 seems a very viable alternative smartphone operating system. It has some great innovative features, and BlackBerry Flow and Peek look like they provide a fresh new approach to the user interface. Time will tell if BlackBerry can persuade consumers to give BlackBerry 10 a try?

*A full UX benchmark of the first devices will be available to WDL clients shortly after launch.

- Paul Brown

For the first time since the Apple iPhone was released in 2007, the number of iPhone owners who say they definitely will or probably will purchase their next phone from the same brand has declined in both the US and Western Europe (see iPhone Owner Loyalty Declines: Is Apple Losing its Innovation Edge?)

In 2012 only 75% of iPhone owners in Western Europe say they are likely to buy their next phone from Apple, down from 88% in 2011. Despite this decline, Apple retains a higher repeat purchase intention level than any other major phone manufacturer surveyed by Strategy Analytics. Respondents who say they probably or definitely will not buy their next phone from Apple is low.

It is respondents in Western Europe and the US who are unsure whether they will remain with the same brand or not for their next phone that Apple should be concerned about. Having launched the game-changing original iPhone in 2007, Apple is no longer the innovator it once was. At the launch of the Apple iPhone 5, one of the biggest changes compared to previous iPhones was an increase in display size from 3.5" to 4.0". However, previous Strategy Analytics research suggest that existing smartphone owners want something even bigger, with 4.3" the most preferred size in our 2011 size preference research (Smartphone Owners Want Thin Devices with Larger Displays), while early provisional results from an update to this research suggest that 4.5? may be the most preferred size for respondents surveyed from June-December 2012. It should also be noted that most of Apple's leading competitor's flagship devices have a considerably larger screen - the Samsung Galaxy SIII at 4.8", the HTC One X and Motorola RAZR HD at 4.7" and the Nokia Lumia 920 at 4.5".

There is no doubt that Apple is continuing its success (figures released by Apple show that the over five million iPhone 5's were sold in the first three days alone). However, on the back of a lack of recent innovation from Apple we are starting see growth in the number of previously highly loyal consumers who are considering whether or not they will purchase a new iPhone for their next device.

- Paul Brown

Nokia launched their new Windows Phone 8 devices today - the Lumia 920 and Lumia 820. During the event, Nokia and Windows Phone fans took to social media, encouraging consumers to embrace the new experiences delivered by these offerings by tweeting the hashtag #switchtolumia

The devices, which feature a number of incremental enhancements from previous models, have raised the bar in the extremely competitive smartphone market. Nokia has successfully differentiated with its hardware. The design of the previous Lumia models has received a lot of praise, and a range of colors will certainly help Nokia stand out from the crowd. Wireless charging will help to differentiate Nokia devices (for the time being), and it has made great advancements with its imaging technology and software - object remover and Cinemegraph in particular are cool. Location services also featured prominently, with the augmented reality of Nokia City Lens another great feature.

Nokia Lumia 920 (Source: press.nokia.com)

However, are these hardware and software features compelling enough to convince consumers to switch operating systems or are Nokia left to fight with Apple and Android for new smartphone buyers? Previous Strategy Analytics research has found that most consumers are hesitant to switch OS due to:

• Concerns about having to learn a new, unfamiliar OS;
• Potential to lose data or content currently saved or downloaded to their device, and importantly;
• Lack of availability of the long tail of apps that individual consumers are particularly attached to.

With new announcements to come from Apple and Motorola/Google this month, do these new offerings from Nokia and Microsoft offer sufficiently compelling innovations to convince consumers to switch to a new operating system? While some of the enhancements -especially wireless charging - are currently not supported by competing platforms, we are unconvinced that incremental innovations, such as the ability to use the touchscreen while wearing gloves, are sufficient to provide those consumers who purchase high-end devices (who tend to be the most platform-loyal) with a compelling reason to switch.

See the first impressions of the Nokia Lumia 920 from my Wireless Smartphone Strategies colleagues here - Nokia Microsoft Lumia 920 WP8 Smartphone: Our First Impressions

- Paul Brown

Following the big success of the MiPhone M1 (3.52 Million sales volumes reported by Xiaomi), Xiaomi have just announced two new models - M2 and M1s. As a brand focusing on young consumers and enthusiasts, Xiaomi chose a very appropriate place, the 798 Factory in Beijing, which is the most famous art zone in China, to announce and introduce the new models. The choice could help Xiaomi to give consumers the association that MiPhone is artistic and design centric.

Xiaomi M2

Most famous for the outstanding user interface ‘MIUI’ and the best value for money in China, Xiaomi’s new models appear to maintain and consolidate these advantages. Compared to the M1, the new M1s comes with higher specs but at a lower price (1,499RMB), while the M2 comes with a new and fresh physical appearance, latest Jelly Bean based MIUI operating system and high specs while maintaining the same price (1,999RMB) of the original M1.

With the value for money reputation that has been built by M1 and the superior user experience brought by MIUI (see Smartphone Platform Benchmark: Meeting the Needs of Advanced Smartphone Users in China), Xiao has already gained a lot of consumers who aspired to buy a MiPhone. Xiaomi appears to have improved the product value of M2 by providing the latest operating system along with a quad core processor. The biggest pain points of the M1 were mostly reported as ‘lack of front camera’, ‘bad rear camera’, and ‘bad display’.  With its new models, Xiaomi has improved these features with a better camera lens and better display, which could persuade consumers who have concerns over these issues to consider the phone. Additionally, the M2 provides a larger battery capacity (2000mAh), and the option to choose an even larger battery capacity (3000mAh with 3mm thicker), which provides the opportunity for consumers to choose the trade-off between battery life and thickness themselves.

Many Chinese consumers complained about the hardware quality of the original MiPhone, and the changes that Xiaomi made for M2 and M1s should give users the feeling that they were actually heard – Xiaomi listened to their advice and made improvements accordingly. With the MIUI forum and the easy way to provide advice directly from the phone, current users will be pleased as they will feel they were involved in the development of the phone.

Strategy Analytics’ user research in China is available to Wireless Device Lab clients or for purchase here. Strategy Analytics’ China Handset Market Share report for Wireless Smartphone Strategies clients can be found here.

- Alvin Wu

Strategy Analytics Wireless Device Lab recently undertook focus group interviews with smartphone owners in the US investigating consumer interest in tactile touchscreen technology. Participants were shown a video of the technology being developed by Tactus to provide them with an example of how a tactile touchscreen may function.

Existing Smartphone users found a strong appeal when presented with the concept of a tactile touchscreen. Participants were intrigued by the enhanced sensory experience that a tactile touchscreen may offer, replicating the feeling of physical keys on the touchscreen, but without losing touchscreen real estate or the added bulk of a physical keyboard. Participants were interested in the ability for the touchscreen to transform dependant on the application being used and the physical keys required, but were concerned about the durability of a touchscreen that transforms, and the associated costs of such a technology.

The full report, Tactile Touchscreen Technology Can Provide Enhanced Sensory Experience is available to clients of Strategy Analytics' Wireless Device Lab.

- Paul Brown

Consumers find confidence in and prefer using operating systems that are trusted, well-known and innovative. Strategy Analytics' Wireless Device Lab recently conducted focus groups in the US, where consumers evaluated four of the top mobile operating systems in the industry – Android, Apple's iOS, BlackBerry OS and Windows Phone. Consumers prefer Android OS and Apple iOS, currently the top two OS in the mobile industry, due to both being well established, staying current with the consumers’ needs and wants in regards to features, services and applications offered, and providing quality and popular applications – an aspect consumers look for when purchasing a new device.

Consumers that prefer an easy to use and intuitive OS like a closed platform, similar to Apple iOS, finding the need to customize their devices relatively low. However, consumers who like the ability to customize their device, don’t mind a bit of complexity and prefer having the choice of numerous applications, find an open market OS, such as Android OS, more appealing.

Consumers are hesitant to switch mobile OS, with the majority mainly concerned with the burden of learning a new, unfamiliar OS as well as losing any data or content currently stored or downloaded to their device. In order to attract consumers to switching operating systems, it is imperative for operating systems to offer an easy transition from one to another to obtain new users. Consumers find services such as the Cloud, an easy and trusted way to transfer their content, as long as they are compatible and available with the mobile OS.

To view the full report, including an evaluation of all four mobile operating systems and how participants perceive each OS, strengths and weaknesses of each OS and consumer interest in the mobile OS across different devices, click here: Ecosystem Determines Consumer Attachment to Mobile Operating Systems (subscription required)

- Taryn Tulay

As smartphone hardware becomes commoditized, smart accessories can help to provide differentiation, as well as potentially extending the life-cycle of devices. Strategy Analytics Wireless Device Lab recently undertook focus group interviews with smartphone owners in the US and UK investigating consumer interest in smart accessories, and found that they have the ability to optimize the user experience of a smartphone for dedicated use cases, leading to increased levels of satisfaction.

Consumers experienced 27 different smart accessories, and interest was highest in the Nokia Play 360 wireless speaker, Jawbone UP and HTC Rhyme Dock.

In order to provide value, smart accessories should:

• Be designed with specific use cases in mind, and they should provide an enhanced experience for that use case;
• Be wireless and portable. Due to their smartphone or tablet already being portable, participants liked the convenience of wireless accessories, with no need to plug in for power or use, making the accessory portable as well;
• Be compatible with multiple devices (not just smartphones) and across multiple operating systems is important. The ability to use an accessory with multiple devices also provides added value, with participants indicating that they may be reluctant to purchase a smart accessory that is designed only for a specific device, as they run the risk of it becoming obsolete over time.

The full report, including which smart accessories are currently being used, how interested respondents were in each of the 27 smart accessories evaluated, and what the highlights and lowlights of each accessory were, click here: Smart Accessories Extend Device Capabilities and Enhance the User Experience (subscription required)

- Paul Brown

Strategy Analytics' User Experience Practice has recently seen research we have conducted on behalf of several major Smartphone handset vendors used in prime time television commercials in the US. Both Samsung and Motorola have featured quotes from Strategy Analytics when promoting some of their latest smartphones.

In September 2011 Samsung launched the Galaxy SII in the US with "The Way We're Wired" commercial. At the time, the Samsung Galaxy SII is "the best and brightest, with the most vivid screen out there". This commercial used Strategy Analytics data comparing the display quality of the Galaxy SII to leading competitors.

When Motorola launched the RAZR MAXX in January 2012, they did so accompanied by research from Strategy Analytics that compared the impressive battery life with the iPhone 4S and Galaxy Nexus. This data has since also been used for the Europe and Middle East launch of the RAZR MAXX.

To find out more about our proprietary research methodologies and how we may be able to help you, please feel free to contact me directly (pbrown@strategyanalytics.com) or email the team: uep@strategyanalytics.com.

- Paul

Nokia has announced the first CDMA Windows Phone designed specifically for the Chinese market, the Nokia Lumia 800c. Our Wireless Smartphone Strategies colleagues believe that it remains to be seen how the device will help Nokia regain the ground it is losing in the Chinese smartphone market.

However, having recently included the Lumia 800 in a user experience benchmark with Chinese smartphone buyers, we observe that Nokia has unveiled a product that is well placed to meet the needs of the target audience in this market.

In our research, the Lumia 800 received positive feedback for its high-end industrial design and the uniqueness of the Windows Phone interface.  At the same time, we identified a number of areas where all of the major smartphone platforms – including Windows Phone – failed to meet the specific needs of Chinese consumers. These include:

• Lack of integration of Chinese internet services.  In our research, Chinese users were clear that deep integration of Facebook, Twitter etc. was of little relevance to them. They wanted the same level of integration of Chinese internet services from RenRen, Sina Weibo, QQ and Baidu. 
• Some China-specific use cases not supported.  Our research identified opportunities for apps that meet the specific needs and behaviors of Chinese consumers (such like group messaging, data management, phone number location, etc.) which are not currently supported by default by the main smartphone platforms.
• Insufficient offline implementations of experiences.  Chinese users prioritize applications and features that work entirely in offline mode.  Functions such as maps that can only operate in connected mode are likely to be considered as too costly.  In our latest research, Chinese smartphone owners reported that only 29% of music listened to on their device was streamed, compared to 42% of US smartphone owners. 

Based on the available information, the Lumia 800c appears to address these challenges, to at least some extent:

• The device will be optimized for local internet brands.  Nokia has announced that the Chinese version of the Lumia 800 will support all of the major Chinese internet services.  Of course, 'support' does not necessarily imply deep integration throughout the OS (as desired by our research participants), but the launch announcement touts a "compelling, locally relevant experience ... especially tailored for people in China".
• Bundling free music, games and Nokia Maps will be appealing to price sensitive Chinese consumers.  However, the extent to which services will be able to be used entirely offline (to avoid expensive data charges) will be critical to adoption.
• The launch of “BeTop”, an incentive program to encourage local developers to produce apps for the platform is a smart move.  To maximize the value of this investment, we believe that Nokia should prioritize the creation of apps that meet the specific needs and behaviors of Chinese consumers that we identified, and promote the best apps that plug these gaps to the user base.

We also note that, as a brand, Nokia remains stronger in China than in most regions.  Our latest brand loyalty research found that 66% of Chinese Nokia owners plan to remain loyal to the brand when they purchase their next device, compared to 50% of UK Nokia owners. 

As identified by our colleagues, price will be a key factor in determining the success of the Lumia 800c - especially as the product will be targeted towards younger Chinese users, who are particularly price sensitive.  However, if Nokia and China Telecom can offer a very competitive subsidized price, as the vendor achieved with the launch of its Lumia 900 device in the US earlier this week, this will make the product a very appealing offering.

Strategy Analytics’ user research in China is available to Wireless Device Lab clients or for purchase here. Strategy Analytics’ China Handset Market Share report for Wireless Smartphone Strategies clients can be found here.

New research from Strategy Analytics Wireless Device Lab investigating form factor and input preferences has found that mobile phone owners in the US and Western Europe continue to show greatest interest in a slate form factor for their next mobile phone. In both regions over 70% of respondents are interested in a slate - an increase of 13 points over the past year in the US.

The recently published report, 'Slate Form Factor Continues to Dominate but Smartphone Intenders Not Yet Ready to Give Up Physical Keys' also found that interest in a clamshell form factor continues to decline, dropping by over 50 points in the last 5 years.

In terms of input preference, a touchscreen only based input method is most appealing overall, although in the US a touchscreen and full-QWERTY combination is also highly desired. Interest in touchscreen only input has risen over time, especially in the US where it was only the third ranked input mechanism in 2010. Over the same time period interest in a 12-key input mechanism has dropped considerably in both the US and Western Europe.

There are a number of big differences between the form factor and input preferences of different segments:

• Existing smartphone owners, many of whom will already have touchscreen only devices, show strong interest in a slate form factor and touchscreen only input.
• Smartphone intenders in the US exhibit signs that they may not yet be ready to give up a physical keyboard as they make the transition to their first smartphone. More of this segment would choose a touch and QWERTY combination than touch only.
• Smartphone rejecters still favor `traditional' bar or clamshell form factors with a 12-key input, although in Western Europe there is modest interest in a vertical slider or slate form factor.

The full report is available to Strategy Analytics' Wireless Device Lab clients or for purchase here.

- Paul Brown