Auckland, New Zealand, 11 May 2012. A new mobile research report from IDC New Zealand shows that according to IDC's Consumerscape 360˚ study, smartphone ownership by households has jumped significantly from 13% in 2011 to around 44% in 2012. This is on the back of an increasingly competitive mobile market being driven by customers demand for better value and the greater access to applications and the internet that smartphones allow.

The research report also provides analysis on the key market and competitive trends IDC has noted in the New Zealand mobile market. Related to the growth in smartphones is the continuing growth in mobile data revenues. IDC is forecasting mobile data to grow at a compound annual growth rate (2011–2016) of 16.6%. Data growth rates closely align with smartphone penetration and are strongly influenced by how data offers are packaged and by the level of investment operators put into helping educate their customer base.

"The average customer now gets more value for their dollar than they did at the beginning of 2011 with more minutes, text and data available for more customers," says Glen Saunders, Senior Analyst, Telecommunications, IDC NZ. "It's been an extremely exciting year with cheaper smartphones, a broader range of promotional and product offers from all the mobile operators and of course more and more people are starting to understand what "apps" are. But for mobile operators to capitalise on these growth trends, the real challenge is about helping customers help themselves through better education."

The report which is entitled "I Just Got My First Smartphone – Now What Do I Do With It? Mobile Operators And New Zealand's Changing Mobile Market in 2012" looks at how Smartphones are at the core of revenue growth and the focus of competitive developments in 2012. The report looks at the challenges facing New Zealand mobile operators and highlights a number of key solutions each could further pursue.

International and local trends in the mobile market will be further discussed at IDC's upcoming Enterprise Mobility event in Auckland on 24 May 2012 - http://www.ap.idc.asia/events/

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