Bangalore: Indian users have complained that entry-level mobile handsets are not fun enough.

A study on the India Mobile Handset Usage and Satisfaction 2007 by International Data Corporation (IDC) has revealed that entertainment traits and storage capacity are two parametric quantities on which customer satisfaction has fall significantly.

The study, conducted on 4,760 mobile (GSM and CDMA) handset users in 18 cities, said that total satisfaction grade of mobile phone users has slumped for the first time in three years.

Overall, the partakers observed that cell phones have become easier to use, have enhanced voice clarity and longer battery life.

In a release issued on Wednesday, Mr. Kapil Dev Singh, Country Manager, IDC India, said, “The handsets with higher memory and good entertainment features are still priced quite high. The entry-level phones are relatively poor on these parameters contributing to decline in satisfaction scores. Higher memory and good entertainment features are the key drivers for upgrading to a new handset.”

The study further highlighted that an incorporated digital camera, a music player and stereo FM radio are three main characteristics that force users to promote their mobile phones. The common user now demands these traits in the more low-priced mobile phones.

Mr. Shailendra Gupta, Senior Manager, Consumer Research, IDC India, informed, “The Indian mobile user is willing to spend Rs 6,900 on an average for an upgrade. This price has declined in the past three years. The average price paid for the current handset by an Indian mobile user is Rs 3,700. The ‘incremental spend’ for the next handset has grown to Rs 3,200 indicating that the experienced users are willing to spend higher amount for purchase of their next handset.”

Averagely, a mobile phone is used for 56 minutes each day for voice communication, indicating an improvement of 5 minutes over 51 minutes per day a year ago. In addition, SMS usage has carried on increasing in last 3 years. Presently, the average SMS user sends 8 SMSes each day.