Mobile phones seen as 'status symbols'

1 August 2008

British consumers feel compelled to buy the latest mobile phones because they act as "status symbols" and "fashion accessories", it has been suggested. According to a disruptive futurologist at BT, consumers feel up-to-the-minute mobile phone technology is representative of style and success. Ian Neild said features such as in-built cameras, mps3 players and WAP and 3G capabilities are more important to consumers today than the ability to make calls. "When was the last time you bought a mobile phone because of the phone? Normally, it's because of what they've got," he remarked. And he claimed that mobile phones are often marketed in such as way as to persuade consumers to look at their own handset and want to change or improve it. The Mobile Data Association claims that more female mobile phone customers send picture messages than male customers, while men are more frequent users of the mobile internet than women.

What tariff should you choose? Pay As You Go or contract? Find the best tariff for your budget. uSwitch.com can search available deals and find the one best suited to you. Compare mobile deals and switch online for free.

Start switching

< Back to market news

© 2008 Adfero Ltd

Content for the uSwitch.com market news service is provided by a third party, Adfero Ltd. Whilst uSwitch.com makes reasonable efforts to check the reliability of this content, uSwitch.com does not guarantee the accuracy thereof or endorse the views or opinions given by Adfero Ltd, unless expressly stated otherwise.