Reliance on mobile phones for various tasks up in kingdom

The number of mobile phone users in Saudi Arabia has been on the rise over the years and users are now increasingly reliant on these gadgets for every possible task.
Samer Sidani, regional manager of Symantec, confirmed in a report published in a local newspaper recently that 87 percent of mobile users in the Middle East completely dependent on their mobile devices for their daily chores, while 78 percent of them use it to access the internet.
Telecommunication companies in the Kingdom are looking for new ways to boost mobile phone sales without increasing the costs.
“Saudi Arabia is a potential market for mobile phones, especially smartphones,” says Faisal Al-Bannai, CEO of Axiom Telecom. “People, especially youth in Saudi Arabia, are early adopters of the latest gadgets. The majority of youth here are educated and want to learn about the latest technologies, so if you see the trend in Saudi Arabia, there is mass consumption of smartphones.”
Al-Bannai adds that apart from using smartphones to make calls, many also use it to engage in social applications like Instagram, WhatsApp and BBM.
Last year, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) released a report showing that Saudi Arabia topped the list with the largest number of mobile phone users worldwide with a ratio of 188 percent.
The report said that for every 100 residents in the Kingdom, there are 180 mobile phones and that they are now being used by children as young as nine years.
“The age group of core mobile users in the Kingdom range between 16 and 38, where males account for 61 percent and women 39 percent approximately,” says Al-Bannai.
He said there are a few established players in the local market selling mobile phones, of which some established players offer advantages to theirs customers and that these organized retailers have unique services that set them apart from others.
“The competition between companies is usually on the service offerings to its customers,” said Al-Bannai. “The customer convenience for buying (retail point) and after-sales services are important elements of competition to promote the sales of the product.”
The Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) revealed in a newsletter last year a significant rise in the number of smartphone users in the Kingdom, especially among young men and women, who account for about 60 percent of the population.
The majority of users in the Kingdom use their mobile phones to get easy access to their e-mail accounts and to store personal information. Upon theft, this could lead to the exposure of highly confidential information such as work e-mails, bank account details and other personal data.
Sidani mentioned in the report that an average e-mail account contains 54 percent of work related files and documents, 33 percent bank statements and details, while 20 percent related to passwords for other online accounts.