COMPETE: Motorola Q, Sony Ericsson and Nokia attract consumer interest

Compete offers up new research on which handsets are generating consumer interest.

Compete found that "more than 5% of handset researchers evaluated The Motorola (MOT) Q in its first month of release. This made it the most considered device in its price range and substantially more popular with consumers than its apparent direct competitor: Palm’s (PALM) Treo series."

Compete noted that "the Treo 650 saw interest from only 2.3% of June shoppers, less than half that of the Q, despite being offered by three carriers, while Verizon is the only carrier to offer the Q. The Treo 700 series drew interest from even fewer shoppers: only 2.1% of handset researchers considered either the Windows or Palm operating system flavors of the Treo 700 series at Verizon Wireless or Sprint."

Compete wrote that "shoppers were more likely to compare the Q with other high-end, multi-purpose and stylish devices, rather than email focused handsets like the Treo or Blackberry series. The Sidekick II, MDA and T509, all offered by T-Mobile, were the non-Verizon handsets shoppers most frequently compared with the Q. This provides an early indication that Motorola has built a product that has appeal beyond business users and is generating significant interest among early adopters and the fashion conscious."


Compete also found that Sony Ericsson (SNE) "led growth in U.S. shopper interest while demand for other manufacturers’ devices generally stagnated during the second quarter of 2006. Sony Ericsson increased its share of consumer interest 38% in the second quarter, growing from a 4.7% share to 6.5% of consumer shopping interest for the quarter overall. The next biggest winner, Nokia (NOK), grew demand 13%. Other major players saw middling to poor performance. Samsung dropped 11%, LG demand dropped 3% and Motorola gained 2%."

Compete said that "the popularity and price cuts of the W600i, as well as the ongoing success of the entry-level Z520a, drove Sony Ericsson’s growth. Nokia saw growing interest in the 6030, 6101, and a strong launch of the 6103 at T-Mobile. Despite strong interest in the t509 ultra slim phone, Samsung could not make up for the shift of promotion away from the a950 at Verizon and the end of life of the e335 at T-Mobile and VI-A820 at Sprint."