True or false?

[ƒORM]

Asians can't survive without handphones


By Aloysius Choong
Thursday, January 31 2002 5:24 PM


SINGAPORE--Mobile phones are indispensible to the personal and professional lives of most Asians, a recent survey revealed.

Sixty-five percent of Indian phone users find it hard to lead social lives without their cell phones, followed by Malaysia with 62 percent and Singapore at 57 percent.

Conducted last month, the study comprised over 3,000 interviews with mobile phone users in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, India and Vietnam.





The survey, commissioned by the Siemens Information and Communication Mobile Group, focused on three groups of users--couples, youths and office workers--ranging in age from 16 to 54.

"Our findings prove that the mobile phone is, indeed, an important facilitator," said Frank Sim, Siemens Singapore country manager, in a statement. "The role of mobile phones as tools to manage people's lives, and to foster and manage relationships has definitely increased".

From those surveyed, it was found that mobile phones play an essential role in their love lives as well. More than one in two mobile phone owners find it easier to send an SMS (Short Messaging Service) to people they are attracted to, instead of speaking directly to them.

A minority of the surveyed couples indicated that they will check their partners' phones for calls and messages made and received. Among them, Indian phone users were the highest at 48 percent, with Singaporean users the lowest at 20 percent.

In Malaysia, 45 percent of female and 35 percent of male phone users said they will not answer their partners' calls after a quarrel. In general, more women than men added that they will boycott calls after a tiff.

As for youths, the survey revealed that a majority of those aged between 16 and 24 enjoy sending and receiving jokes via SMS. The young people of the Philippines--often regarded as the SMS capital of the world--topped this poll at 89 percent.

The use of mobile phones is common in classrooms, especially among young females. In Thailand, 68 percent of female users and 60 percent of male participants agreed that SMS is an easy way to communicate with friends during classes. Six percent of Singaporean youths surveyed admitted to using mobile phones to cheat in exams.

For business users surveyed, while a majority said mobile phones and SMS help to foster customer relationships, some feel pressured by their phones. In India, 50 percent of business users said they feel "controlled" when the boss calls. This figure was the highest in the region, with Indonesian users feeling the least pressured at 16 percent.

This is the second year Siemens has commissioned a mobile survey, conducted by independent research house Asia Market Intelligence.

On why Siemens chose to repeat the exercise, its regional marketing manager Sandra Rubart cited the media and consumer interest generated last year. "The last survey was eye-catching and different. People were crazy about reading the results."

From the survey this year, it appears that people are crazy about their phones, too

[MC Hammered]

Forget a silver spoon, I was born with a Startac in my mouth.