Consumers unhappy with digital displays

CAMBRIDGE UK: Liquavista, the company pioneering mobile multi-media displays, today launched a series of findings from a recently commissioned research report that shows there is a growing risk of a consumer backlash against mobile devices.

A staggering 83% of the British consumers interviewed for the research commented that they have had problems seeing the screens of mobile phones, digital camera’s, TV’s and laptop or desktop computers in some light conditions. 75% further commented that they have had to block out natural daylight in some situations or another to see the screens or have had to resort to shielding mobile phone screens with their hand in order to read text messages or see an image that has been received (61%).  Additional findings from the report show that nearly all consumers questioned were unable to view the screen when the back-light (also blamed as for being the main drain on batteries in most mobile devices) powers down – 83%.

The research highlights that these visibility problems are now creating bad feelings amongst users, with nearly half of the respondents (44%) citing  that they feel misled by the advertising campaigns for such devices which predominately show them being used in an outdoor environment.

60% of users also felt restricted about where they could use their mobile device and 57% felt frustrated that, as a result of not being able to see the screen clearly, they were unable to use the full functionality within the device.  A further 54% complained that the automatic switch off of the artificial light, after such a short time, was irritating.

With the user-level of mobile communication devices being so high (88% of Great British adults have a mobile phone; 90% have either a mobile phone,  digital camera, desktop or laptop computer) these are issues that the industry needs to address quickly if it plans to further enhance the interaction that consumers have with their devices – by offering subscription services such as mobile-TV for example.

The good news is that if the changes to the screen enhance the flexibility of how and where the device can be used, consumers are willing to pay a premium price for new products.

In fact, 73% of respondents would change their buying behaviour with respect to mobile devices if screens could be viewed clearly in all light conditions, including outdoors in daylight.  54% would consider an upgrade, 31% would be more likely to subscribe to additional services (mobile TV, email and Internet access) and 24% would happily pay a premium price – which increased to a 26% positive response rate if the screen enhancements didn’t then have a negative impact on battery life.

“Consumers are right to argue that the technology running behind today’s  displays isn’t at a satisfactory level,” commented Mark Gostick, CEO of Liquavista.  “It’s not good enough anymore to expect users to interact with a ‘mobile’ device only from behind closed curtains or with one hand over  the screen the block the natural light.”

“That said, positive developments are already taking place in the industry and manufacturers are now in a position where they can address these issues just as soon as they can make the necessary changes to their production lines.  The next generation of displays will not only use 90% less power than todays but they are also guaranteed to be visible in all lighting

conditions, inside or out.  This is great news for demanding consumers who know what they need from emerging mobile technologies in order to improve productivity or create a more balanced work/life structure in having the flexibility of a varied working environment.”