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New iPhone 3G tempts prepay customers towards a contract 16% of prepay users would consider taking up the new Apple iPhone 3G at one of the tariffs on offer. The research, carried out by GfK NOP just before the iPhone 3G launch, also reveals that, of that 16 per cent of prepay users, two-thirds prefer one of the 18-month contracts over the pre-pay offer, indicating that O2’s new iPhone 3G offers have the potential to move these customers towards taking a long-term contract. Looking at the full market, one in five mobile owners (20 per cent) said that they would be interested in purchasing the new handset on one of the new handset / tariff packages within the next 6 months. A further 7 per cent said they would also be interested in getting the iPhone 3G, but not at the current tariffs. Anders Nielsen, Director at GfK Technology comments, “The message from the research is very clear; the blend of handset subsidies, sensible tariffs and the improved technical specifications will combine to really drive demand. O2 and Apple have addressed most of the barriers which held back mass-market take-up of the original iPhone, so we expect the iPhone 3G to sell well. In addition to selling new connections, the research shows that the new iPhone offers will also help convert some pre-pay users to 18 month contracts which, in turn, could contribute positively towards O2 customer retention and ARPU levels.” Awareness of the new Apple iPhone 3G is mostly centred on the new handset features. The iPhone 3G may not have generated quite the same level of publicity as the first iPhone, but nevertheless almost a third (32 per cent) of UK mobile phone owners are aware of the new Apple iPhone 3G. Amongst these, awareness is centred on the new handset features, with over half being aware of the improved 3G data speed (56 per cent) and the improved memory of 8 or 16 GB (54 per cent), but there is also good awareness of the different range of tariffs and handset prices on offer. Awareness also high amongst Silver surfers! Unlike so many other handset launches, the Apple handset seems to have captured the imagination of the wider population, not just early adopter or youth segments. Awareness levels are high across all age groups, but of particular note is that nearly three quarters (72 per cent) of 60+ year old mobile owners are aware of the iPhone, not all that far behind the 97 per cent awareness amongst the more obvious 16-24 year old group.
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