Smartphone penetration in APAC by market

I created this chart with Google's new online mobile data too.  Data comes from Google and Ipsos.

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There are lots of other markets & measures.  Create your ownhere.
Source:  Google, Ipsos & MMA 2011.  Full info here

Samsung sold 5m Galaxy S II phones in 85 days

"Samsung's Galaxy S II smartphone has racked up record sales even before it's hit the hot U.S. market.
The Korean mobile-phone maker said yesterday that it sold more than 5 million units of the Galaxy S II in the 85 days following its debut. Announcing the sales on its Samsung Tomorrow page (Google Translate English version), Samsung said that the phone has captured the top market share among more than 10 countries in Europe.
In comparison, the original Galaxy S took 125 days to reach the same 5-million-unit sales mark.
The GS II launched in its home base of South Korea on April 29 before reaching Japan and several European countries in May. The popular phone claimed more than 3 million in unit sales just one month after its release, according to Samsung, with 2 million selling in some of the larger markets."

Source:  CNET, 28th July 2011

Foursquare in South-East Asia

Foursquare in South-East Asia: Statistics, Culture & Marketing

View more presentations from Oliver Woods

The Asia Pacific region account for 70% of the world's virtual goods sales, down from 81% in 2007

"In 2007, the Asia/Pacific region accounted for more than 81% of the total worldwide virtual goods revenue. In 2010, North and South America regions accounted for nearly 20% of the revenue, with Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) accounting for 10%. The remaining 70% of worldwide virtual goods revenue remains in the Asia/Pacific region, says In-Stat (www.in-stat.com)."

Source:  Press release from InStat, 25th January 2011

Nearly 30% of smartphone users start their day with the mobile internet, and 45% end their day with it

"Nearly a third (30%) of smartphone users start their day with the mobile Internet and 45% end their day with it, with the peak time for use while relaxing at home in the evening (64%). The only time Web use falls off dramatically is when people are actively engaged in other activities like sports or at live events.
"This clearly demonstrates how mobile Internet use has caused a significant shift in consumer need to have constant connection with the outside world," stated the report, which based its findings on a survey of 8000 active smartphone users across Italy, Sweden, the U.K., U.S., Australia, China, India and South Korea.
What's more, people are accessing the mobile Web at home while consuming other media. Half of smartphone users said they browse the mobile Web while watching TV, listening to the radio, and while traveling. Thirty-nine percent do so while using the PC-based Internet, and 34% while reading newspapers and magazines. From these findings, Initiative concluded that marketers can use mobile to amplify messaging in other media."
Source: Initiative Media, reported by Mediapost, 22nd June 2010

Digital music and video distributor The Orchard reaches more than 1.2 billion mobile customers across Asia

"Today, The Orchard, a global leader in music and video distribution and comprehensive digital strategy, announced that the company is now reaching more than 1.2 billion mobile customers across Asia through distribution partnerships with top mobile operators and licensors in China, Japan, Korea, India, and the Middle East.
In Japan, The Orchard has direct agreements with Music.JP and Music Airport, as well as a partnership with the largest record label Avex, which brings Orchard content to Label Mobile, a mobile-content provider owned by leading Japan record labels. In The Middle East, The Orchard has an agreement with Viva, which provides The Orchard access to top mobile operators like Orange, Vodafone, and Mobinil. In Korea, a deal with NeoWizBugs supplies content to SK Telecom and third-party mobile music sites including Bugs, Melon and Dosirak. A deal with ZTEMT China brings The Orchard's content to China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom subscribers. Finally, through its partner label Saregama, the Orchard also reaches the largest mobile service providers in India, such as Vodafone, Air Tel, Reliance, and BSNL. In total, The Orchard taps over 1.2 billion mobile users in the Asian mobile market."
Source: Press release from The Orchard, 26th May 2010

Approximately 4,000 iPhones are sold each day in Korea

"At last, half a million Apple iPhones have sold in Korea by the end of this month. The phones were an instant hit as soon as they belatedly hit the Korean market on Nov. 28, 2009 and sales remain at some 4,000 a day. The phones sold over 500,000 in only seven countries including the US, Germany, France and Japan. Apple is reportedly surprised at how fast the iPhone is selling in Korea.
People believes iPhone sales will slow down with the launch of new smartphones like Samsung’s Android Phone but still expects the total number sold to reach 1 million this year. Because many people are waiting for new iPhone 4G device in June.
Ironically Safari users in Korea were increased about 10 times compared with 6 month before. The most Korean online news service, Media Daum reported web browser share: IE6 57.1%(-7.8%), IE8 21.2%(+12.9%), IE7 16.8%(-3.01%), Safari 2.54%(+2.15%), Mozilla Firefox 1.2%(+0.01%) and Google Chrome 0.96%(+0.34%). The number of Safari users caught up with Firefox’s and it became #2 web browser in Korea."
Source: KoreaCrunch blog, 29th March 2010

Asian online marketplace Alibaba has more than 50m registered users

"During the first quarter, we made steady progress in all fronts. We added 2.5 million registered users, more than 458,000 storefronts and more than 43,400 paying members. This represents a key milestone as Alibaba.com surpasses 50 million registered users with 7.3 million storefronts and 658,701 paying members worldwide. We are particularly encouraged by the strong performance across revenue and net profit in the quarter. The quarterly revenue growth continued to accelerate and increased 49.3% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2010, compared with the 35.8% year-on-year growth in the fourth quarter of 2009. Despite generally weaker seasonality in the first quarter of the year, we maintained decent growth in recurring free cash flow and deferred revenue. Deferred revenue grew 43.6% year-on-year to reach RMB3.6 billion. These achievements showcased the strong execution by our team and confirmed Alibaba.com’s value to our small business customers."
Source: Company announcement of unaudited results, 13th May 2010
Background info on Alibaba here

Japan has the highest advertised broadband speeds

Source: OECD, cited by the BBC, 26th May 2009

Internet users in China spend 44% of their leisure time online

Internet users in China spend 44% of their leisure time online.
Other countries:
Korea - 40%
Japan - 38%
Italy - 31%
US - 30%
Other countries also listed.
Source: Chart on page 3 of TNS Global 'Digital World, Digital Life' report, December 2008, based on adults aged 18-55. Full pdf here

In Helsinki 57% of public transport single tickets are paid by mobile

"In Helsinki, Finland 57% of public transport single tickets are paid by mobile. In Croatia over half of all parking is paid by mobile. In South Africa you can have your paycheck paid directly to the mobile phone account linked to your mobile banking account. In Soweto a barbershop has more than half of its customers paying by mobile. 20% of London’s congestion charge is paid by mobile. In Slovenia every vending machine, every McDonald’s restaurant, and every taxicab accepts payment by mobile phone. In Kenya the maximum limit of mobile-to-mobile money payments is set to 1 million U.S. dollars per single transaction. And in South Korea, all credit card companies enable their credit cards to the owners’ mobile phones by default, offering to send an optional old-fashioned plastic credit card to the customer’s home address for free."
Source: Figures quoted by Alan Moore on page 8 of his paper The Glittering Allure of the Mobile Society, November 2008