April 20, 2007
Where You Carry, Why It Matters
Jan Chipchase has published an essay on where people carry their phone and why.
This essay presents data from a series of Nokia street surveys conducted between 2003 and 2006 and has since been run in eleven countries across four continents.
Selected Results:
What follows is a small selection of data taken from all 11 studies and unless otherwise stated draws on the responses of all participants (n=1549).
-- 60% of men sampled carried their mobile phone in their trouser pockets.
-- 30% of pocket carriers and 50% of bag carriers sometimes or always miss incoming calls.
-- 61% of women sampled carried their mobile phone in a bag usually a hand bag
-- Phone carrying positions were driven by a need to balance the ease of carrying and interaction versus a desire to protect it from damage, loss and theft.
-- The use of belt pouches amongst males ranges from 0% in Tokyo, 10% in Los Angeles, 38% in Ji Lin
-- The use of protective phone covers amongst males and females varied from 3% in Tokyo to 32% in Kampala and is driven by a desire to prolong the life of the device by protecting from dust and scratches and to protect resale value.
-- The adoption of phone straps varies considerably between Asia Pacific and the rest of the world.
-- The use of wallets and purses to cluster, contain and protect the things we carry varied considerably ranging from 98% in Tokyo, 54% in Beijing to 35% in Ji Lin.
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