Telephone use is changing rapidly
A semester comparison of the Wemf Mach Consumer 2013 study commissioned by IGEM shows: The biggest changes took place in phone use.
Developments in entertainment and communications technology are moving at a rapid pace. For this reason, the electronic media interest group IGEM commissioned an exclusive evaluation from the Mach Consumer 2013 study from the AG für Werbemedienforschung WEMF, which shows the changes between the first and second survey semesters.
A comparison of the results for the two semesters (see box) on the basis of the population aged 14 and over throughout Switzerland reveals a whole series of significant changes, especially in the area of telephone use.
For example, the proportion of those who have a normal fixed-network line has fallen significantly from 78.1 to 74.2 percent. By contrast, the proportion of those who mainly make calls via the Internet (e.g., Skype) has increased from 16.6 to 18.8 percent, and the proportion of those who mainly use cell phones has risen from 62.9 to 65.3 percent. As expected, there has been a massive increase in smartphone ownership, from 45.8 to 52.5 percent. Among 14- to 29-year-olds, the figure of just under 80 percent in the second half of the year is significantly higher than in the first half (72.5 percent). In line with the greater prevalence of smartphones, the use of the corresponding functions has also increased significantly (see graphic).

In terms of cell phone ownership, Nokia leads with 33.2%, just ahead of Apple with the iPhone (31.3%). However, this figure is significantly 4.8 points lower for Nokia in the second half of the year than in the first half, while it is 4.8 points higher for the iPhone. Samsung continues to rank third with a value that has risen from 18.1 to 22.1 percent.
As a result of the greater penetration of smartphones, daily or almost daily Internet use via a mobile device has also increased significantly from 33.6 to 38.2 percent. Meanwhile, 25.8 percent of people aged 14 and over also live in households with a tablet PC. That is a good third more than in the first semester. And the proportion of those who regularly used a tablet PC in the second semester rose by around 40 percent to 19.9 percent.
Box
The exclusive evaluation from Wemf's Mach Consumer study includes all questions from the consumer electronics / telecommunications / computer sector. These can be evaluated after the two semesters of the survey year:
- Semester 1: Mid-April 2012 to mid-October 2012
- Semester 2: Mid-October 2012 until beginning of May 2012
The survey also includes people in households without a registered fixed network connection. The results correspond to the average value for the semester in question and are based in each case on around 4700 interviews throughout Switzerland, of which 3400 are in German-speaking Switzerland, 1100 in French-speaking Switzerland and 200 in Italian-speaking Switzerland. The results can be analyzed by all IGEM members at no additional cost via Next > Level.






