Ericsson is predicting an explosion in smartphones in Thailand and warning operators that they have to ensure network readiness and appropriate price plans to assure continued growth.
Of the one thousand respondents interviewed face-to-face aged between 16 to 60 resident in Thailand, one in four will have a smartphone by the end of 2012 while tablet ownership will quadruple from 2% in 2011 to 8% according to a survey conducted by Ericsson consumer lab.
Based on consumers’ expressed interest, video calling, push to talk and speech-to-text are expected to have largest potential for growth.
Looking at the apps usage that is driving growth in mobile data, the most popular mobile applications used by Thais are those related to entertainment, followed by gaming, and general search.
In general, about one-third of the study respondents in Thailand use applications on a daily basis.
Thai smartphone usage pattern seems to be following Malaysia in the short-medium term and Singapore/ Australia in the long term.
The report urged Thai retailers and mobile application developers to get ready for the new communication medium of the smart phone - Internet calls, email, social networking, IM and VoIP - as well as the potential of TV and video in the palm of the hand.
The challenge for operators is to make sure that their networks are ready for this upsurge in demand. Since the majority of users are on pre-paid the operators need to introduce smarter pre-paid plans to encourage further uptake.
The full report with details from all ASEAN countries is available on the Ericsson consumer lab website.