The Pulse - Tech Savvy Consumers

Every month we survey our Pulse Network, a network of over 10,000 milllennials. We had responses from over 100 students (high school and college) and here is what we learned this month.

With smartphones becoming more prevalent and popular, we wanted to get a sense of how students feel about these new gadgets and what they thought were the biggest benefits of having one. While the majority of students know what a smartphone is, only 26% of the respondents own one. Students have limited budgets and during these harder economic times, not all parents can afford to go out and buy the latest and greatest technology.
While only a few have smartphones, the features and applications that are offered with the smartphone are very appealing. The ability to check email and browse the internet are the biggest benefits to students. We asked all respondents the following question.

What are some reasons you purchased a smartphone or want to purchase one?
• 61% stated I can access my email and internet
• 51% stated I can play music on it
• 50% stated I can take pictures with it
• 42% stated it’s a mini-computer
• 41% stated it has a touch screen
• 41% stated I can view video clips
• 38% stated it has a miniature keyboard
• 12% stated I don’t think there is anything really special with it

That said, the feature they would use the most is the internet. Students want to get information instantaneously, so having the internet at their disposal has high appeal.

What smartphone feature you would use the most?
• 44% Internet
• 23% Music
• 17% Email
• 8% Pictures
• 1% Video

In terms of brand choice, Apple is the top rated among students if they were to purchase a smartphone, followed by the BlackBerry.