A recent Q&A with Johan Wikenstedt highlighted 3 things:
1. The Android devices remain as the region's favourite, with presence of 67%, 64% and 90% in China, Japan and South Korea, respectively while size of the device influences preferences among genders with Galaxy IV preferred by man and Galaxy Note preferred by women.
2. The top apps used in the region are the chat apps such as WeChat in China that has 400M subscribers, Line in Japan that has 150M and Kakao in Korea that has 80M subscribers. Among the pull factors for chat apps include the attraction of emoticons and cartoon representations, multi-OS compatibility and availability of video and gaming services.
3. Key challenge for Operators in this region is to cater for the higher demand for bandwith coming from the widespread use of smart phones while monetizing OTT broadband consumption, be it for voice, text, data or any other popular apps.
In summary, Operators need better understanding of the trends and needs of their subscribers and develop suitable revenue models with OTT providers on a win-win strategy.
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