James Rosewell writes:
Following the boom of smartphones we have seen device after device released each month. With so many new devices hitting the market, consumers are faced with the tough decision of either keeping their trusty mobile or spending more money and upgrading. But how long are consumers hanging on to older models?
The following chart shows the top 15 HTC devices as measured by % of web traffic generated by HTC devices during December 2012 in the United States. They're arranged in ascending order of release date as measured by 51Degrees.mobi mobile analytics.
The EVO 4G - first released in June 2010 - stands out as contributing 20% of HTC’s web traffic.
Analysing all HTC devices by age from the month they were first released shows just how popular for web access pre-2012 HTC devices still are.
This simple analysis indicates exactly how much the mobile market is changing. Devices are hanging around for a lot longer as their lives are extended through multiple software and app upgrades which don’t require increased hardware capabilities. Many consumers don’t need the latest quad core phones to shave milliseconds off the time taken to perform basic tasks.
It’s not only the software that is kept up-to-date; the mobile web is now getting a lot of attention from web designers. Web sites optimised for small screen mobile devices are simpler to display and use.
The fact that older HTC devices are just so good is cold comfort for HTC CEO Peter Chou, in charge of reversing HTC's fortunes. HTC, later than others, realised they need to shrink their range and bring focus to their marketing in 2012. Only two months stand out for product releases in the above charts, showing that HTC are narrowing the range and focusing launches.
You can follow the fortunes of HTC, and any other manufacturer, with the free Mobile Analytics tools available at 51Degrees.mobi.