INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction

In today’s market place thousands of products and services,

all of which are rapidly being commoditized, a brand stands out

from the clutter and attracts attention. A brand name can create and

stand for loyalty, trust, faith, premium or mass- market appeal,

depending on how the brand is marketed, advertised and promoted.

A brand differentiates a product from similar other products and

enables it to charge a higher premium, in return for a clear identity

and greater faith in it function. A brand is also likely to survive longer

than just an undifferentiated product. A brand is identity to a living being:

it has an identity and personality, name, culture, emotion and intelligence.

All these are conferred by the owner of the brand and needs to be

continuously looked at to keep the relevant to the target it intends to sell

to.

The cellular phones (commonly “mobile phone” or “cell phone “or

“headphone” ) is a long-range, portable electronic device used for mobile

communication. In addition to the standard voice function of a telephone,

current mobile phones can support many additional services such as SMS

for text messaging, email, packet switching for access to the internet, and

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MMS for sending and receiving photos and video. Most current mobile

phones connect to a cellular network of base stations (cell sites), which is

in turn interconnected to the public switched telephone network (PSTN)

(the exception is satellite phones. Cellular telephone is also defined as a

type of short-wave analog or digital telecommunication in which a

subscriber has a wireless connection from a mobile telephone to a

relatively nearby transmitter. The transmitter’s span of coverage is called

a cell. Generally, cellular telephone service is available in urban areas and

along major highways. As the cellular telephone user moves from one

cell or area of coverage to another, the telephone is effectively passed on

to the local cell transmitter. A cellular telephone is not to be confused

with a cordless telephone (which is simply a phone with a very short

wireless connection to a local phone outlet). A newer service similar to

cellular is personal communications services (PCS).

1.2 Scope of the study

The studies mainly focus on the brand preferences on mobile

phones various factors that affect the choice of smart phone. This study

will not only help the mobile companies to concentrate upon the future

strategy but to select the largest audience to be focused upon while

expanding the market.

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1.3 Objectives of the study

The primary objective was to study about the brand preference of

mobile phones among college students.

1. To find out the students satisfaction towards the various mobile

phones.

2. Major features which a customer looks before making a purchase.

3. Factors that influence decision-making in purchasing a mobile

phone.

4. To know which media puts more impact on the buying decision of

students.

1.4 Research methodology

Research methodology is a science. It is method that can be used

to solve the research problem. It helps in studying how research is done

scientifically. Research methodology provides various steps that can be

adopted by the researcher in studying the research problem. Research

methodology has many dimensions. The scope of research methodology

is wider than that of research methods. Research methodology includes

not only research but also considers the logic behind those methods.

Here the method used in convenience sampling which is a non-

probability sampling method. This method was used taking consideration

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the size of universe, availability of finance, time and personnel. The data

is collected through questionnaire by taking 50 respondents as sample

size.

1.4.1 Source of data collection

a) Primary Data: Primary data are the form raw materials statistical

methods applied for the purpose of analysis and interpretation.

Questionnaire method is used in this project.

b) Secondary Data: Secondary data are in the form of finished products

as they have already been treated statistically in some form or other

company website, article, magazine, and books are the secondary source

used for this project.

In this project most of data is collected from primary data (Questionnaire)

and secondary data was also used but comparatively much less.

1.4.2 Tools for data analysis

Analytical tools are used for the analysis and interpretation of collected

data. It includes

 Tables

 Diagram

 Bar diagram

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  Pie chart

1.5 Limitations of the study

 A small sample size of 50 students is taken, so we can’t draw

inferences about the population from the sample size.

 Time period is short and resource constraints.

 The scope of the project is limited to the city of Thrissur. So, we

cannot say that the same responses will exist throughout India.

This study is based on the prevailing student’s satisfaction. But the

student’s satisfaction may change according to time, fashion, technology,

development, etc.

1.6 Scheme of the study

The first chapter is introduction. It includes the description of

study, scope of the study, objectives, research methodology, and

limitations of study. The second chapter is review of literature. The third

chapter is industry profile. The fourth chapter is data analysis. The fifth

chapter is findings, suggestion, and sixth chapter is conclusion.

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 REVIEW OF LITERATURE

V Josephine Lourdes De Rose (2015) a smart phone is a mobile phone

with an advanced mobile operating system. They typically combine the

features of a cell phone with other popular mobile devices, such as media

player and Global Positioning System navigation unit. Most smart phones

have a touch screen user interface and can run third party apps, and have

camera phones. Smart phones from 2012 onwards also have a high speed

mobile broad band. India ahead of United Sates is second largest country

for smart phone use in the world. In India college students check face

book accounts on smart phones. The researcher has made an attempt to

study the factors which affect choice of smart phones among college

students and cluster them on the basis of their choice factors. This study

identifies three group of smart phone users (economy seekers, value

seekers and prestige seekers) based on cluster analysis.

Khan and Rohi (2013) States the investing factors affecting brand

choices for mobile phone purchases among youth indicates that brand

preference is selective choice of consumers for certain brands over others

that are available. Moreover, brand preference indicates which broad

consumers prefer among those having similar prices and availability.

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They show the perceived strengths of brands in minds of consumers when

giving priority over others that are available.

Ajax Persuad, IrfanAzhar (2012) concludes that consumers shopping

style, brand trust, and value are key motivations for engaging in mobile

marketing through their Smartphone’s. Further research should focus on

specific tactics marketers use to engage customers beyond marketing

messages, that is, how they engage customers in dialogue to build

relationships, encourage purchase and build loyalty. This could reveal

how customers really want to engage in mobile marketing.

Nazr Azad; Maryam Safaei (2012) states there are many evidences to

believe that customers select their products based on brand name.

Products also maintain their own characteristics, which make them

differentiable from others. In the paper, researchers have present an

empirical study to determine important factors influencing customer’s

purchasing intend for cellular phones in capital city of Iran, Tehran. The

results of the study show that there are some positive relationships

between exclusive name and quality perception, between exclusive name

and word of mouth advertisement, between quality perception and

fidelity, between word of mouth advertisement and brand name and

between brand name image and brand name.

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Androulidakis; G. Kandus (2011) correlate the brand of mobile phone

to users Security practices, Users show different behavior in any array of

characteristics, according to the brand of the mobile phone they are using.

As such, there is a categorization of areas, different for each brand, where

users are clearly lacking security mind, possibly due to lack of awareness.

Such a categorization can help phone manufacturers enhance their mobile

phones in regards to security, preferably transparently for the user.

PratompongSrinuan, Mohammad TsaniAnafari, Erik Bohlin,

(2011) states that subscriber characteristics, including age, government

officer, self employed, internet use, central region and southern region are

significant in explaining the switching behavior of Thai mobile

subscribers. The study also shows that the largest mobile operators will

gain more switching subscribers than small operators. The study shows

that the expected impact of implementing MNP without national mobile

roaming regulations would be worse for small mobile operators. The

smaller operators need to compete on both price and quality

improvement. In the short run, it would not be possible for the smaller

operators to compete with the larger operators due to the inequality in the

quality of network coverage.

Harsha De Silva, (2011) generally shows that adoption of mobile

telephones has significant benefits not just to adopter, but to the

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community at large. In this context, the objective of the current article is

to examine, from a user perspective, the influences on mobile phone

adoption by the poor in a selected set of countries in the emerging Asian

region.

Luca Petruzzellis (2010) referred and concluded that technology

nowadays is overcome by customer preferences and needs; In particular,

the role of the brand is to be analyzed with respect to its influence in

shifting customer preferences from the technical performances to the

emotional/ symbolic ones. The researchers had provided an analysis of

the brand attitude and perception tested and viewed through user eyes.

ArvindSahay and Nivedita Sharma (2010) focused on brand

relationships are indeed important for different categories of young

consumers; second to investigate the effect of peer influence, family

influence, and brand relationships on switching intentions amongst young

consumers; and third , to look at the impact of price changes on

switching intentions in the context of brand relationships. Researcher’s

results suggest that young consumers develop relationships on all brand

relationship dimensions.

Hans Kasper, Jose Bloemer, Paul H, Driessen, (2010) has thrown light

on how consumers cope with confusion caused by overload in

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information and/or choice. The paper investigates whether consumers

who face different degrees of confusion use different coping strategies

depending upon their decision –making styles. The researchers found that

consumers of mobile phones can be characterized by combinations of

decision-making styles and find three clusters based on decision making

styles: “price conscious and cautious” consumers “brand loyal and quality

driven” consumers, and “functionalist” consumers. Results show

significant main effects of the degree of confusion and the decision

making styles on the use of coping strategies as well as a significant

interaction effect on these two.

HandeKimiloglu V.AslihanNasir, SuphanNasir, (2010) aims to

discover consumer segments with different behavioral profiles in the

mobile market. Pragmatic consumers are found to give high importance

to functional, physical and convenience- based attributes of the product.

The abstemious group also gives importance to functionally along with

design. While value conscious consumers focus strongly on price, the

charismatic segment represents the want -it- all group valuing many

attributes such as technological superiority, practicality, durability,

functionality, and design. The study also includes findings and

discussions about the differences these clusters display in terms of their

involvement and loyalty styles.

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Ramakrishnanvenkatesakumar, D. Ramakumar and P.

ThillaiRajan (2008) confirm that brand loyalty and switching behavior

of the consumers are evergreen issues of research and strategic

importance to the marketers and academic researchers. The current

research aims to address the significance of product attributes in brand

switching behavior through multi dimensional scaling and results suggest

that a set of product attributes trigger the intention to switch the current

brand.

Shibashish, Chakraborty and KalyanSengupta (2008) endeavors

to make a detailed study on important demographic variables of

customers affecting brand switching of customers. The study will

highlight pertinent aspects of prediction of switching proclivity of

customers from one service provider to another.

Anne Martensen (2007) examine teens (8-12 years old) satisfaction

with loyalty to their mobile phones and the relationship between these.

The results indicate that teens are far more satisfied with their mobile

phones than adults are and that the mobile phones fulfill children’s

expectations to a much higher degree. Still, brands are not able to turn

teens into loyal customers who will recommend their mobile phones to

friends. Teen’s loyalty is lower than what is experienced for adults and

the relationship between satisfaction and loyalty is very weak.

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Hellier (2003) Brand preference is the degree to which consumers favor

their selected brand over competing brands due to their personal set of

considerations. Brand preferences begin with initial exposure to brands,

which generates interest, and where consumers later discard certain

brands based on what they are looking for. This leaves them choosing

between certain brands falling within their consideration sets.

Understanding the concept of brand preference is important to marketers

for establishing strong brands in the competitive mobile phone market.

Brand preference is a key factor influencing consumer choices, and is

thus crucial in understanding those factors which affect brand

preferences.

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 INDUSTRIAL PROFILE

A. History of Indian Telecommunications

Started in 1851 when the first operational land lines were laid by

the government near Calcutta (seat of British power). Telephone services

were introduced in India in 1881. In 1883 telephone services were

merged with the postal system. Indian Radio Telegraph Company (IRT)

was formed in 1923.. Telecom sector was considered as a strategic

service and the government considered it best to bring under state’s

control. The first wind of reforms in telecommunications sector began to

flow in 1980s when the private sector was allowed in telecommunications

equipment manufacturing. In 1985, Department of Telecommunications

(DOT) was established. In 1986, two wholly government- owned

companies were created: the Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) for

international telecommunications and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam

Limited (MTNL) for service in metropolitan areas. National Telecom

Policy (NTP) 1994 was the first attempt to give a comprehensive road

map for the Indian telecommunications sector. In 1997 Telecom

Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was created. TRAI was formed to

act as a regulator to facilitate the growth of the telecom sector. New

National Telecom Policy was adopted in 1999 and cellular services were

also launched in the same year among the college students. The study will

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help to understand Telecommunication sector in India can be divided into

two segments. Fixed Service Provider (FSPs) and cellular services. Fixed

line services consist of basic services, national or domestic long distance

and international long distance services However; private services focus

on the business/ corporate sector, and offer reliable, high-end services,

such as leased lines, ISDN, closed user group and video conferencing.

Cellular services can be further divided into two categories: Global

System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Code Division Multiple

Access (CDMA). The GSM sector is dominated by Airtel, Vodafone-

Essar, and Idea Cellular, while the CDMA sector is dominated by

Reliance and Tata Indicom. The reduction in tariffs for airtime, national

long distance, and handset prices has driven demand.

B. Telecom Industry in India

 The telecom industry is one of the fastest growing industries in

India. India has nearly 200 million telephone lines making it the

third largest network in the world after China and USA.

 With a growth rate of 45% Indian telecom industry has the highest

growth rate in the world.

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  Much of the growth in Asia Pacific Wireless Telecommunication

Market is spurred by the growth in demand in countries like India

and China.

 India’s mobile phone subscriber base is growing at a rate of 82.2%

 China is the biggest market in Asia Pacific with a subscriber base

of 48% of the total subscribers in Asia Pacific.

 Compared to that India’s share in Asia Pacific Mobile phone

market is 6.4%. Considering the fact that India AND China have

almost comparable populations, India’s low mobile penetration

offers huge scope for growth.

Key players in the mobile market in India

a) Motorola

Motorola Electronics a wholly owned subsidiary of Motorola

Electronics was established in January, 2003 after clearance from the

Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). The trend of beating

industry norms started with fastest ever-nationwide launch by Motorola

in a period of 4 and 5 months with the commencement of operation in

may 2003. MOTOROLA set up a state of the art manufacturing facility at

greater Noida, near Delhi, in 2004, with an investment of Rs 500crores.

During the year 2001 MOTOROLA also commenced the home

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production for its eco-friendly refrigerators and established its assembly

line for its PC Monitors at its greater Noida manufacturing unit.

b) Samsung

The Samsung Group is the world’s largest conglomerate. It

composed of numerous international businesses, the world’s largest

electronic company, Samsung heavy industries, one of the world’s largest

ship builders and Samsung Engineering & construction, a major global

construction company. These three multinational form the core of

Samsung group and reflects its name “the meaning of Korean word

Samsung is “tristar” or “three stars “. The Samsung brand is the best

known South Korean brand in the world and in 2005, Samsung overtook

Japanese rival Sony as the world’s leading consumer electronics brand

and became part of top twenty global brands overall. It is also the leader

in many domestic industries, such as the financial, chemical, retail and

entertainment industries. Samsung’s strong influence in South Korea is

visible throughout the nation, and is sometimes called the ‘Republic of

Samsung’.

The 1990s saw Samsung rise as an international corporation. Not

only did it acquire a number of business s abroad, but also began leading

the way in certain electronic components. Samsung’s construction branch

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was awarded a contract to build one of the two Petronas towers in

Malaysia, Taipei 101 in Taiwan and the Burj Dubai in United Arab

Emirates which is the tallest structure ever constructed in 1996, the

Samsung group reacquired the Sungkyunkwan University foundation. In

1993 and in order to change the strategy from the imitating cost-leader to

the role of a differentiator. Lee Kun-hee, Lee Byung-chull’s successor,

sold off ten Samsung group subsidiaries, downsized the company, and

merged other operations to concentrate on three industries: electronic,

engineering, and chemicals.

C) LG

The LG group is a multinational conglomerate that produces

electronics, mobile phones, and petrochemical products and operates

subsidiaries like LG Electronics, LG Telecom, and Zenith Electronics and

LG Chem in 1947. As the company expanded its plastic business, it

established Gold Star Co, Ltd, in 1958. In 1959, Gold star produced

Korea’s first radio. In 1995, it was renamed “LG” the abbreviation of

“Lucky Gold Star “.LG has entered into a joint venture with Nortel

networks and has created LG-Nortel Co. Ltd. LG also has a joint venture

with Hitachi, Hitachi-LG Data storage , which manufactures optical data

storage products like DVD-ROM drives, CD writers, etc. LG acquired

American television manufacturing company zenith in 1999.

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 LG Electronics is the world’s second biggest maker of television

and third biggest maker LCD TVs and Mobile Phones. With headquarters

in the LG Twin Towers on Yeouido, Seoul, LG Electronics is the flagship

company of LG group, one of the world’s largest conglomerates. The

company was originally established in 1958 as Gold Star, producing

radios, TVs, refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners. The

LG group was a merger of two Korean companies, Lucky and Gold Star,

for which the abbreviation of LG was derived. LG Solar Energy is a

subsidiary formed in 2007 to allow LG Chem to supply polysilicon to LG

Electronics for production of solar cells. In 2008 LG took its first dive

into the solar panel manufacturing pool, as it announced a preliminary

deal to form a point venture with conergy.

d) Sony

It is engaged in the production and distribution of motion picture,

home entertainment, television product, and record music. Further, Sony

is also engaged in the financial services businesses, including insurance

operations through a Japanese insurance subsidiaries and banking

operation through a Japanese internet based banking subsidiary. Primarily

Sony’s products are marketed in Japan, United States and Europe. Sony

has a history of more than 60 years. In 1946 in Nihonbashi, Tokyo Ibaka

Akio Morita founded a company called Tokyo Telecommunications

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Engineering Corporation also known as Totusko, with start-up capital of

190,000 yen for the research and manufacture of telecommunications and

measuring equipment. After moving their head office and factory to

Shinagawa, Tokyo, they successfully produced and launched a power

megaphone and completed the first magnetic tape recorder prototype that

was produced and launched in early 1950 and called G-type. In 1995 they

launched Japan’s first transistor radio.

In the 1990s they began producing home-use PC’s launching their

“VAIO” series. Around their same time they launched their widely

popular play station gaming consoles, originally in joint ventures with

Nintendo but eventually spinning it off in to a product of their own.

Today Sony is a well known technology company with a very diverse

product line ranging from their original line of products, home audio, to

recording media to robots.

e. Latest Hand Set Facilities

1. GSM

GSM (Global) System for Mobile Communication originally

Group is a standard developed by the European telecommunications

Standards Institute (ETSI) to describe the protocols for second generation

digital cellular networks used by mobile phones, first deployed in Finland

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in July 1991.As of 2014 it has become the default global standard for

mobile communications with over 90% market share, operating in over

219 countries and territories.

“GSM” is a trademark owned by the GSM Association.

2. CDMA

Code division multiple accesses (CDMA) is a channel access meth

used by various radio communication technologies.CDM is an example

of multiple access, where several transmitters can send information

simultaneously over a single communication channel. This allows several

users to share a band of frequencies. To permit this without undue

interference between the users, CDMA employs spread-spectrum

technology and a special coding scheme.

CDMA is used as the access method in many mobile phone standards

such as cdmaOne, CDMA200 and WCDMA which are often referred to

as simply CDMA.

3. Hotspot

A hotspot is a physical location where people may obtain internet

access. Optically using Wi-Fi technology, via a wireless local area

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network (WLAN) using a router connected to an internet service

provider.

Public hotspots may be found in an increasing number of businesses for

use of customers in many developed urban areas throughout the world,

such as coffee shops. Many hotel offers Wi-Fi access to guests, either in

guest rooms or lobby. Hotspots differ from wireless access points, which

are hardware devices used to provide a wireless network service.

4. 4G

4G, short for fourth generation is the fourth generation of mobile

telecommunications technology, succeeding 3G. A 4G system must

provide capabilities defined by ITU in IMT advanced. Potential and

current applications include amended mobile web access, IP telephony,

gaming services, high definition mobile TV, video conferencing, 3D

television, and cloud computing.

Two 4G candidate systems are commercially deployed; the mobile

WiMAX standard and the first release long term evolution (LTE)

standard. In the United States, spirit has deployed mobile WiMAX

networks since 2008, while Metro PCS became the first operator to offer

LTE service in 2010. USB wireless modems were among the first devices

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able to access these networks, with WiMAX smart phones becoming

available during 2010, and LTE smart phones arriving in 2011.

5. 3G

3G short form of third generation is the third generation of mobile

telecommunications technology. 3G finds application in wireless voice

telephony, mobile internet access, fixed wireless Internet access, video

calls and mobile TV.

3G telecommunication networks support services that provide an

information transfer rate of at least 200 Kbit/s. Later 3G releases, often

denoted 3.5G and 3.75G, also provide mobile broad band access of

several Mbit/s to smart phones and mobile modems in laptop computers.

This ensures it can be applied to wireless voice telephony, mobile internet

access, fixed wireless internet access, video calls and mobile TV

technologies.

A new generation of cellular standards has appeared approximately

every tenth year since IG systems were introduced in 1981/1982. The first

3G networks were introduced in 1998 and fourth generation 4G networks

in 2008.

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6. GPS

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a space based navigation

system that provides location and time information in all weather

conditions, anywhere on or near the Earth where there is an unobstructed

line of sight to four or more GPS satellites. The system provides critical

capabilities to military, civil, and commercial users around the world. The

United States government created the system, maintains it, and makes it

accessible to anyone with a GPS receiver.

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 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

In this step, the data which is collected is arranged according to

some pattern or a particular format and this analysing of data is mainly

done to provide the data with meaning. The data is raw in nature but after

it is arranged in certain format or a meaningful orders this raw data takes

the form of information. The most critical and essential supporting pillars

of the researches are the analysing and the interpretation of data.

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4.1 Income level of family

Table 4.1 Income level of family

Particulars Number Percentage

Up to 3 lakh 36 72%
3-5 lakh 4 8%
5-10 lakh 6 12%
10-15 lakh 2 4%
Above 15 lakh 2 4%
Total 50 100%
(Source: Primary data)

Fig 4.1 Income level of family

80
70
60
50
40
PERCENTAGE
30
20
10
0
Up to 3 lakh 3-5 lakh 5-10 lakh 10-15 lakh Above 15 lakh

Interpretation:

Out of the 50 respondents, 36 respondents were from the family whose

income is up to 3 lakh, 4 respondents were from the family whose income

is between 3-5 lakh, 6 respondents were from the family whose income is

between 5-10 lakh, 2 respondents were from the family whose income is

between 10-15 lakh, 2 respondents were from the family whose income is

above 15 lakh.

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4.2 Educational background of the respondents

Table 4.2 Educational background of respondents

Particulars Number Percentage

High School 0 0%
Higher Secondary 8 16%
U.G 36 72%
P.G 6 12%
Total 50 100%
(Source: Primary data)

Fig 4.2 Educational background of respondents

80
70
60
50
40
PERCENTAGE
30
20
10
0
High School Higher Secondary U.G P.G

Interpretation:

Out of 50 respondents, respondent in high school don’t have mobile

phone, 8 respondents of higher secondary have mobile phone, 36

respondents of U.G have mobile phone and 6 respondents of P.G have

mobile phone.

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4.3 Brand of mobile phone

Particulars Number Percentage

Xiaomi 14 28%
Samsung 8 16%
Iphone 8 16%
LG 10 20%
Other 10 20%
Total 50 100%
Table 4.3 Brand of mobile phone

(Source: Primary data)

Fig 4.3 Brand of mobile phone

30

25

20

15
PERCENTAGE

10

0
Xiaomi Samsung Iphone LG Other

Interpretation:

Out of 50 respondents, 14 respondents have xiaomi phone, 8 respondents

have Samsung phone, 8 respondents have Iphone, 10 respondents have

LG and 10 respondents have other phones.

4.4 Period of using mobile phone

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 Table 4.4 Period of using mobile phone

Particulars Number Percentage

0-1 Year 14 28%
1-2 Years 20 40%
2-3 Years 4 8%
3-4 Years 2 4%
Above 4 years 10 20%
Total 50 100%
(Source: primary data)

Fig 4.4 Period of using mobile phone

45
40
35
30
25
20 PERCENTAGE
15
10
5
0
0-1 Year 1-2 Years 2-3 Years 3-4 Years Above 4 years

Interpretation:

Out of the 50 respondents, 14 respondents are using less than 1 year, 20

respondents are using 1-2 years, 4 respondents are using 2-3 years,2

respondents are using 3-4 years and 10 respondents are using above 4

years.

4.5 Factors which influence for purchasing the mobile phone

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 Table 4.5 Factors which influence for purchasing the mobile phone

Particulars Number Percentage

Price 16 32%
Camera 6 12%
Screen 4 8%
Battery 4 8%
Brand 20 40%
Total 50 100%
(Source: Primary data)

Fig 4.5 Factors which influence for purchasing the mobile phone

45
40
35
30
25
20 PERCENTAGE

15
10
5
0
Price Camera Screen Battery Brand

Interpretation:

Out of 50 respondents, 16 respondents purchase based on price, 6

respondents purchase phone based on camera, 4 respondents purchase

phone based on screen, 4 respondents purchase phone based on battery

and 20 respondents purchase phone based on brand.

4.6 Period of changing phone

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 Table 4.6 Period of changing phone

Particulars Number Percentage

0-1 Year 4 8%
1-2 Years 20 40%
2-3 Years 6 12%
3-4 Years 2 4%
Above 4 years 18 36%
Total 50 100%
(Source: Primary data)

Fig 4.6 Period of changing phone

45
40
35
30
25
20 PERCENTAGE
15
10
5
0
0-1 Year 1-2 Years 2-3 Years 3-4 Years Above 4 years

Interpretation:

Out of 50 respondents, 4 respondents change phone in a period of less

than 1 year, 20 respondents change phone within a period of 1-2 years, 6

respondents change phone within a period of 2-3 years, 2 respondents

change phone within 3-4 years and 18 respondents change phone with a

period of more than 3 years.

4.7 Latest mobile handset facility available now

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 Table 4.7 Latest mobile handset facility available now

Particulars Number Percentage

4G 24 48%
Other 22 44%
Video call 6 12%
Hotspot 0 0%
Total 50 100%
(Source: Primary data)

Fig 4.7 Latest mobile handset facility available now

60

50

40

30
PERCENTAGE

20

10

0
4G Other Video call Hotspot

Interpretation:

Out of 50 respondents, 48% respondents says 4G as latest facility, 12%

respondents says video call as latest facility, 0% respondents says hotspot

as latest facility, 44% respondents says other latest facilities.

4.8 Favourite brand of mobile phone

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 Table 4.8 Favourite brand of mobile phone

Particulars Number Percentage

Samsung 10 20%
LG 0 0%
Xiaomi 10 20%
Iphone 18 36%
Others 12 28%
Total 50 100%
(Source: Primary data)

Fig 4.8 Favourite brand of mobile phone

40
35
30
25
20
PERCENTAGE
15
10
5
0
Samsung LG Xiaomi Iphone Others

Interpretation:

Out of 50 respondents, 10 respondents favourite brand is Samsung, no

respondents have LG as their favourite brand, 10 respondents favourite

brand is xiaomi, 18 respondents favourite brand is iphone and 12

respondents have other brands as their favourite brand.

4.9 Brand with better service

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 Table 4.9 Brand with better service

Particulars Number Percentage

Iphone 14 28%
LG 0 0%
Samsung 10 20%
Xiaomi 14 28%
Other 12 24%
Total 50 100%
(Source: Primary data)

Fig 4.9 Brand with better service

30

25

20

15
PERCENTAGE
10

0
Iphone LG Samsung Xiaomi Other

Interpretation:

Out of 50 respondents, 14 respondents prefer iphone with better service, 0

respondents prefer LG with better service, 10 respondents prefer

Samsung as better service, 14 respondents prefer xiaomi as better service

and 12 respondents prefer other brands as better service.

4.10 Brand with better camera

33
 Table 4.10 Brand with better camera

Particulars Number Percentage

Iphone 26 52%
Samsung 4 8%
Xiaomi 4 8%
LG 2 4%
Others 14 28%
Total 50 100%
(Source: Primary data)

Fig 4.10 Brand with better camera

60

50

40

30
PERCENTAGE

20

10

0
Iphone Samsung Xiaomi LG Others

Interpretation:

Out of 50 respondents, 26 respondents prefer Iphone, 4 respondents

prefer Samsung, 4 respondents prefer xiaomi, 2 respondents prefer LG

and 14 people prefer others.

4.11 Brand with high battery

34
 Table 4.11 Brand with high battery

Particulars Number Percentage

Xiaomi 22 44%
Samsung 8 16%
Iphone 2 4%
LG 4 8%
Others 14 28%
Total 50 100%
(Source: Primary data)

Fig 4.11 Brand with high battery

50

45

40

35

30

25
PERCENTAGE
20

15

10

0
Xiaomi Samsung Iphone LG Others

Interpretation:

Out of 50 respondents, 22 respondents prefer xiaomi, 8 respondents

prefer Samsung, 2 respondents prefer iphone, 4 respondents prefer LG

and 14 respondents prefer others.

4.12 Brand with quality

35
 Table 4.12 Brand with quality

Particulars Number Percentage

Iphone 28 56%
Samsung 6 12%
Xiaomi 6 12%
LG 2 4%
Others 8 16%
Total 50 100%
(Source: Primary data)

Fig 4.12 Brand with quality

60

50

40

30
PERCENTAGE

20

10

0
Iphone Samsung Xiaomi LG Others

Interpretation:

Out of 50 respondents, 28 respondents prefer iphone, 6 respondents prefer

Samsung, 6 respondents prefer xiaomi, 2 respondents prefer LG and 8

respondents prefer others.

4.13 Brand which give more advertisement and promotion

36
 Table 4.13 Brand which give more advertisement and promotion

Particulars Number Percentage

Samsung 20 40%
Xiaomi 16 32%
LG 2 4%
Iphone 2 4%
Others 10 20%
Total 50 100%
(Source: Primary data)

Fig 4.13 Brand which give more advertisement and promotion

45

40

35

30

25
PERCENTAGE
20

15

10

0
Samsung Xiaomi LG Iphone Others

Interpretation:

Out of 50 respondents, 20 respondents prefer Samsung, 16 respondents

prefer xiaomi, 2 respondents prefer LG, 2 respondents prefer iphone and

10 respondents prefer others.

4.14 Source of information about mobile phone brands

37
 Table 4.13 Source of information about mobile phone brands

Particulars Number Percentage

Friends 28 56%
Advertisement 18 36%
Family 0 0%
Magazines 0 0%
Others 4 8%
Total 50 100%
(Source: Primary data)

FIG 4.14 Source of information about mobile phone brands

60

50

40

30
PERCENTAGE

20

10

0
Friends Advertisement Family Magazines Others

Interpretation:

Out of 50 respondents, 28 respondents were informed by the friends, 18

respondents were informed by the advertisement, 0 respondents were

informed by the magazine and family and 4 respondents were informed

by other factors.

38
4.15 Advertising media that influence for the buying decision of

mobile phone

Table 4.15 Advertising media that influence for the buying decision of

mobile phone

Particulars Number Percentage

Social media 34 68%
T.V 4 8%
Magazines 2 4%
Newspaper 0 0%
Others 10 20%
Total 50 100%
(Source: Primary data)

Fig 4.15 Advertising media that influence for the buying decision of

mobile phone

80
60
40 PERCENTAGE

20
0
Social media T.V Magazines Newspaper Others

Interpretation:

Out of 50 respondents, 34 respondents were influenced by social media, 4

respondents were influenced by the T.V, 0 respondents were influenced

by newspaper, 2 respondents were influenced by the magazines and 10

respondents were influenced by other factors.

39
4.16 Reason for using phone

Table 4.16 Reason for using phone

Particulars Number Percentage

Just to talk 10 20%
Gaming 10 20%
Download files 6 12%
Taking photos 6 12%
Others 18 36%
Total 50 100%
(Source: Primary data)

Fig 4.16 Reason for using phone

25

20

15

PERCENTAGE
10

0
Just to talk Gaming Download Taking photos Others
files

Interpretation:

Out of 50 respondents, 10 respondents are using phone just to talk, 10

respondents are using phone for gaming purpose, 6 respondents are using

phones for downloading files, 6 respondents are using phone for taking

photos and 18 respondents are using phone for other purposes.

40
4.17 Accessories prefer to have while purchasing a phone

Table 4.17 Accessories prefer to have while purchasing a phone

Particulars Number Percentage

Headset 22 44%
Memory card 12 24%
Screen card 8 16%
Phone cover 6 12%
Others 2 4%
Total 50 100%
(Source: Primary data)

Fig 4.17 Accessories prefer to have while purchasing a phone

50
45
40
35
30
25
PERCENTAGE
20
15
10
5
0
Headset Memory card Screen card Phone cover Others

Interpretation:

Out of 50 respondents, 22 respondents prefer to have headset, 12

respondents prefer to have memory card, 8 respondents prefer to have

screen card, 6 respondents prefer to have phone cover and 2 respondents

prefer to have other accessories.

41
4.18 Battery backup preferred for the phone

Table 4.18 Battery backup preferred for the phone

Particulars Number Percentage

2000 mah 2 4%
300 mah 12 24%
4000 mah 20 40%
5000 mah 8 16%
6000 mah 8 16%
Total 50 100
(Source: Primary data)

Fig 4.18 Battery backup preferred for the phone

45
40
35
30
25
20 PERCENTAGE

15
10
5
0
2000 mah 300 mah 4000 mah 5000 mah 6000 mah

Interpretation:

Out of 50 respondents, 2 respondents prefer 2000 mah, 12 respondents

prefer 3000 mah, 20 respondents prefer 4000 mah, 8 respondents prefer

5000 mah and 8 respondents prefer 6000 mah.

42
4.19 RAM prefer while purchasing a phone

Table 4.19 RAM prefer while purchasing a phone

Particulars Number Percentage

2GB ram 8 16%
3GB ram 12 24%
4GB ram 16 32%
6GB ram 6 12%
8GB ram 8 16%
Total 50 100%
(Source: Primary data)

Fig 4.19 RAM prefer while purchasing a phone

35

30

25

20

PERCENTAGE
15

10

0
2gb ram 3gb ram 4gb ram 6gb ram 8gb ram

Interpretation:

Out of 50 respondents, 8 respondents prefer 2 GB ram, 12 respondents

prefer 3 GB ram, 16 respondents prefer 4 GB ram, 6 respondents prefer 6

GB ram and 8 respondents prefer 8 GB ram.

43
4.20 Internal storage prefer for mobile phone

Table 4.20 Internal storage prefer for mobile phone

Particulars Number Percentage

32gb 12 24%
64gb 12 24%
128gb 14 28%
256gb 12 24%
Total 50 100%
(Source: Primary data)

Fig 4.20 Internal storage prefer for mobile phone

30

25

20

15
PERCENTAGE

10

0
32gb 64gb 128gb 256gb

Interpretation:

Out of 50 respondents, 12 respondents prefer 32 GB, 12 respondents

prefer 64 GB, 12 respondents prefer 128 GB and 14 respondents prefer

256 GB.

44
5.1 Findings

a. Most of the respondent’s family income is up to 3 lakh.

b. Most of the U.G students have mobile phone.

c. Most of students are using xiaomi phone.

d. Most of students are using phone from 1-2 years.

e. Brand is the main factor which influence for purchasing mobile phone.

f. Most of respondents change their phone within a period of 1-2 years.

g. 4G is the latest mobile facility available now.

h. Iphone is the favourite brand.

i. Most of respondents prefer iphone and xiaomi with better service.

j. Iphone is the mobile phone with better camera.

k. Xiaomi is the mobile phone with better battery.

l. Iphone is the phone with better quality.

m. Samsung is the brand which gives more advertisement and promotion.

n. Most of respondents get the information about mobile from their

friends.

45
o. Social media is the factor which influence for buying the mobile

phone.

p. Most of respondents use phone for other purposes.

q. Most of respondents prefer to have headset while purchasing mobile

phone.

r. Most of respondents prefer 4000 mah of battery for the phone.

s. Most of the respondents prefer 4 GB ram of phone.

t. Most of the respondents prefer 128 GB as internal storage of phone.

5.2 Suggestions

 Samsung and LG can try to improve their service

 Samsung, xiaomi and LG can try to improve their camera features.

 Samsung and iphone can try to expand their battery capacity.

 Samsung and xiaomi can try to improve their product quality.

 Iphone and LG can expand its market by giving more

advertisements and promotion.

 Most of mobile brands can try to give headset while purchasing

phone.

 Most of mobile brands can try to produce phones of minimum

4000 mah battery capacity.

46
 Most of mobile brands can try to produce phones of minimum 4

GB ram.

 Most of mobile brands can try to produce phones of minimum 128

GB.

47
 CONCLUSION

Mobile phone markets are one of the most turbulent markets today due to

increased competition and change. Thus, it is the mobile phone user’s

choices between different mobile phone brands. This study aims to

address the question by analyzing brand which is preferred most by

mobile phone users, while purchasing mobile phones and status and

impact of the technical, economical, social and personal criterion by

mobile phone users to take the decision for choosing and purchasing the

branded mobile product further the current satisfaction level on the

particular brand owned. To achieve this purpose total sample consist of

50 respondents. The respondents have been selected from the different

colleges and public places. The statistical techniques considered are the

entire collected data were analyzed by using tables and diagrams. The

research conclusion from the present study, the small local players like

LG and other brands will have to quickly rethink their product, marketing

and service strategy fresh according to the small towns to put their house

in order. Apart from affordable pricing and assured quality of mobile

phones, the mobile companies target audience should be more towards

younger generation. They would drive to best ‘feather’ in cap of mobile

market share in small towns. Conclusion and recommendations drawn

from the findings for the study have been provided, enabling mobile

48
phone industry stakeholders to improve their knowledge of factors

considered important, and allowing them to improve on their brands,

thereby increasing preferences for their products in the highly

competitive mobile phone market. Mobile is the most convenient and

easy and fastest of all channels used largely for communication with

friends and family. So it’s essential to gain consumers trust which can

only be achieved by understanding the needs and meeting consumer’s

expectations. Brands should try to understand consumer’s preference for

receiving mobile offers and create campaigns so that consumers can

participate it. Mobile modification is taking place constantly so the

manufacturers should cater the need of customers. Mobile phone

manufacturers can cater to the needs of customers by taking feedback

about a particular mobile phone product or a specific feature of that

mobile phone. Brand preference can be achieved by the creating positive

brand image in consumers mind. The primary objective of the study is to

access the brand preference for mobile phones among college students. It

also identifies those major features which a student looks in a mobile

phone. Most of phone brands are developing day by day. Most of the

mobile brands are competing each other to get consumer satisfaction. The

consumers attitude are changing because of the new developments in

mobile phones. New companies are also evolving in the mobile brand

49
sector. This study helps to know the preference of consumers towards

mobile phones. It is by this attitude that the present youth buy mobile

phones. The attitude and preference of youth for mobile phones depends

upon the mobile phone companies because of the new technologies that

they make. This study will help to know about the brand preference of

mobile phones of college students.

50