Yandex recently conducted a survey among the users of its mobile maps application. Turns out the majority of the people use the app for keeping track of traffic to avoid being stuck in traffic jams. Searching for addresses and places is only second on the list and most of those requests appear in the afternoon (between 13:00 and 16:00), which means most of the smartphone users live in populous cities and travel to unknown destinations for work or lunch. The report also gave an insight into the mobile platforms market in Russia. Nokia is the current market leader: Symbian phones are currently the most popular in the Russian market. However, their market share has shrunk by a staggering 12% last year. Apple is on the second position and during the past 12 months iPhone's marketshare has risen as much as Nokia's has fallen - by 12%. Finally, Android's popularity is growing even faster than iOS' - it grew by 14% in 2010.
What those numbers tell is that Nokia's position in the Russian market is undermined by Apple and Android just like anywhere in the Western world today. However, the fact that its marketshare has shrunk by 12% but it remained the market leader means Nokia is leading by a substantial margin. In the end, Nokias were the first phones for many people and their 'made in Finland' stamp of high quality has resonated with consumers for more than a decade. However, Apple's and Android's quickly growing popularity might soon mean that warm feelings for Nokia would be a thing of the past.
According to RusTele.com report 2010 was the year of rapid development of the mobile Internet in Russia. The number of smartphone users rose together with the demand for mobile Internet access in major cities and small towns alike. 3G network coverage is growing and is predicted to cover all towns with population of 5000 and up by the end of this year. Besides, the report has noted a growing cooperation between mobile operators and social networks, in particular the integration of mobile payments for virtual goods.
Russia is one of the most lucrative markets for mobile software developers. Currently only 7% of the population uses a smartphone, whereas in most of the Western Europe that number is 28%. However, that number is growing and Russia's smartphones market is said to experience a gigantic growth in the upcoming couple of years.
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