Latest Podcast



Featured Articles

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Mobile retailers waste over £21.6 million a year on unnecessarily sending mobile phones for repair

David Heled of Cellebrite writes:

Smartphones are now by far and away the communication, payment and information device of choice for consumers and enterprises. Sales are set to overtake those of traditional feature phones this year for the first time. However, the increasing complexity of the devices’ technology means that there’s a lot more that can go wrong, and make it harder for mobile retailers to identify potential problems – and it’s costing them millions per every year.

As the use of mobile internet continues to rise, increased connectivity and heightened competition has forced operators to drive down prices and look for revenue elsewhere. Just recently, a report from Juniper Research suggested that 50 per cent of data traffic generated by smartphones will be offloaded to Wi-Fi this year – a further cause for concern for operators worldwide. Operators need to make efficiencies wherever possible, and the unnecessary wastage of over £21.6 million a year caused by consumers and retailers sending perfectly functional smartphones away for repair is simply unacceptable.

In the UK alone approximately 60,000 mobile phones are reported as ‘faulty’ each month. For mobile retailers and operators this results in an unfavourable cost of £50 per device, plus the loss of revenue from usage as the phone is sent away to the network operator’s repair centre to be fixed. But what many operators and retailers fail to realise is that sending customers phones away to the repair centre isn’t always necessary. So why then are many wasting money on shipping away mobile devices?

The expectation issue

The most common mobile faults can be divided into three main categories: battery-related problems, connectivity issues and application or software problems. However, in over 50 per cent of cases these issues can be resolved within minutes or, perhaps more surprisingly, are not even faults at all.

In many cases, the problem is actually down to an expectation issue, rather than a fault with the device itself. When switching from an old feature phone to the latest smartphone, consumers expect the performance of the device to remain the same, but with smartphones now capable of doing a lot more, this expectation is unrealistic.

For example, one of the most common faults reported with smartphones is that ‘the battery drains too quickly’, but often this is based on a comparison with the performance of old feature phones. Whilst the battery on these phones could easily carry the device for three days without recharging, these phones didn’t have half as many features.

Another frequently reported problem is that the mobile phone won’t take pictures, when in fact it’s simply that the device is full and won’t save the images. However, without the technology in place in store to analyse the device, many mobile operators and retailers are sending away the smartphone just to find this out.

Using technology to their advantage

As many consumers make the switch to the latest devices this year, the pressure on mobile operators and retailers is only going to increase. Whilst around 30 per cent of mobile phone faults are a result of expectation or misuse problems, a further 60 per cent are caused by software or application issues – all of which can be fixed without the need to send the device away.

With the growing number and complexity of ‘smarter’ devices, it is imperative that mobile operators realise that traditional approaches to diagnostics and repair are no longer adequate in coping with the rising number of reported faults and consumers’ dependence on such devices. In a time where revenue is falling and monetisation opportunities are decreasing, mobile operators and their retail counterparts cannot afford to waste money.

Technology is now available to provide in-store and remote diagnostics and repair and it is time for mobile operators to start using this to their advantage. Devices such as the Cellebrite DeskTop enable operators and independent retailers to identify and fix a host of problems – from basic user error to more serious mobile malware and malicious applications – all from the comfort of an in-store PC. This technology also aids in transferring data from old phones to new devices.

This innovative technology enables operators to make huge cost-efficiency savings, but by removing the need for consumers to sacrifice their device and providing a key differentiator in an increasingly competitive marketplace, it can also substantially improve that all-important customer service.

Many operators are now recognising the benefits on both cost-efficiencies and customer service and taking proactive steps to implement such technology, but those who fail to do so may need to prepare themselves for losing customers to their more competitors that do.

David Heled is Vice President R&D at Cellebrite.

We talked to Dave Golding of Cellebrite about smartphone fault diagnosis in a podcast last year. You can listen to the interview via the built-in audio player on our website or by downloading the MP3 file.

Print
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Rate this article:
No rating

Leave a comment

This form collects your name, email, IP address and content so that we can keep track of the comments placed on the website. For more info check our Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use where you will get more info on where, how and why we store your data.
Add comment

Opinion Articles

Privacy in Mobile Apps: MEF roundtable in Barcelona

During Mobile World Congress 2012, TheFonecast.com was invited to record a roundtable on Privacy in Mobile Applications. This event was hosted by MEF, the global community for mobile content and commerce, and was supported by SNR Denton.

Our recording is now online at TheFonecast.com and on the MEF blog.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Last week at The Fonecast: 19th March 2012

Mark Bridge writes:

Mobile financial services were making the headlines yet again last week. Not once. Not twice. No, we noticed at least three separate (and all pretty big) stories to talk about.

First came Nokia’s planned withdrawal from its mobile money service, which will leave around a million people in India looking for a new mobile wallet.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Apple iPad dictation isn't perfect but customers love it anyway

Mark Bridge writes:

Excuse me a moment while I climb onto my soapbox.

Right. Ooh, it’s busy up here.

For a number of years, various companies have worked on computer-powered dictation and transcription services. Now Apple has entered this space.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Rebtel: the mobile VoIP rebel that speaks its mind

Mark Bridge writes:

Back in the 1960s, Hertz was the number one hire car company in the USA. Avis was trailing a long way behind. Looking for a new advertising campaign, CEO Robert Townsend spoke to Bill Bernbach - the ‘B’ in ad agency DDB - and a few months later “We try harder” became the Avis tagline.

“Avis is only No.2 in rent a cars” the headlines admitted. “We try harder. When you’re not the biggest, you have to.”

It’s a message I was reminded of when I met Andreas Bernström at Mobile World Congress last month. Andreas is CEO of Rebtel, the world’s second-largest mobile Voice-over-IP company. With Skype seen as market leader for VoIP services, I asked Andreas whether Rebtel also needed to try harder.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Has Apple messed up the user experience by creating its new iPad?

Mark Bridge writes:

The new iPad has a better screen. Higher-resolution. Clearer. High Definition. Just what everyone wants, right?

Apparently not.

Author: The Fonecast
1 Comments
Article rating: No rating
RSS
First4344454648505152Last

Recent Podcasts

Reviewing our 2015 mobile industry predictions... and looking forward to 2016

Podcast - 15th January 2016

Iain Graham, James Rosewell and Mark Bridge return to review their mobile industry predictions from last year. Which mergers, partnerships and developments did they forecast correctly... and which didn’t work out as planned?

Later in the programme, the team anticipates some of the topics that will be hitting the headlines during 2016.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Podcast from Mobile World Congress 2015

Podcast - 6th March 2015

Mark Bridge learns about the mobile technology trends at Mobile World Congress 2015 by chatting to James Rosewell of 51Degrees, Dr Kevin Curran from the IEEE and Chris Millington of Doro.

They talk about wearable devices, wireless charging, mobile operating systems and much more... including some of their favourite products from the exhibition.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Looking back at February: from security scares to multiple MVNOs

Podcast - 27th February 2015

We're taking a look back at the biggest mobile industry news stories from February 2015, including allegations that the UK's security service tried to breach SIM card security by hacking into one of the world's biggest SIM producers.

We also talk about the planned BT and EE merger, the creation of two new UK virtual networks, some acquisitions in the mobile payment arena and a new Ubuntu smartphone.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Interview with Chris Millington of Doro about mobile retailing, wearables and technology for older consumers

Podcast - 24th February 2015

In today's programme Mark Bridge talks to Chris Millington, who's Managing Director for Doro UK and Ireland.

They discuss the state of mobile retailing in the UK, the future of wearable devices and - as you might expect - smartphones for seniors.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

A month of mobile: O2 counts on 3, Microsoft counts to 10 and Apple counts its profits

Podcast - 30th January 2015

We're back with a month of mobile industry news, including takeover talks and takeover rumours. O2 and Three are said to be discussing a merger... but is there any truth in the suggestions that BlackBerry could be up for grabs?

We also discuss Apple's record-breaking quarterly figures, the highlights of CES and the launch of Microsoft Windows 10, as well as saying farewell to the current version of Google Glass.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
RSS
12345678910Last

Follow thefonecast.com

Twitter @TheFonecast RSS podcast feed
Find us on Facebook Subscribe free via iTunes

Archive Calendar

«November 2024»
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
28293031123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
2526272829301
2345678

Archive

Terms Of Use | Privacy Statement