A new survey of the technology habits of South Africa\u2019s students reveals that BlackBerry remains the most popular brand of mobile phone.<\/p>\n
The 2015 Student Tech Survey, conducted across South African tertiary education institutions by World Wide Worx and Student Brands, with the support of Standard Bank, found that BlackBerry (32%) is ahead of Samsung at 27% and Nokia at 21%, when it comes to the brand of phone used by students.<\/p>\n
However, when asked for their brand preference regardless of affordability, one out of every two respondents chose the Apple iPhone. Samsung came in second at 29%, and Sony in third place at 9%.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reality will be a little different,\u201d said Arthur Goldstuck, MD of technology market research organisation World Wide Worx.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a vast affordability gap between what students wish they could get and what they intend to get.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to student intentions, 43% will buy a Samsung phone next, with the iPhone coming in second at 17%, followed by Nokia at 11% and BlackBerry still making a showing at 10%.<\/p>\n
More than 2,300 students participated in the survey, conducted to establish trendlines for changes in the student technology landscape.<\/p>\n
As many as 38% of respondents are using Android devices, overtaking the previous leading operating system, BlackBerry.<\/p>\n
A little more than one in 10 students still use feature phones, while the Windows Mobile operating system is used by 7% of the sample, marginally ahead of Apple\u2019s iOS, the report found.<\/p>\n
Social media<\/strong><\/p>\n Facebook has become the default social network among students, being used by 97% of respondents, followed by Twitter at 67%, then YouTube, with 44%. The most recent entrant into the social arena, WeChat, has already reached 22% of the student market.<\/p>\n The survey also revealed the rise of the platform that is becoming most closely associated with selfies, showing 40% of respondents using Instagram.<\/p>\n However, professional aspirations also came to the fore, revealing that 36% of the students interviewed use LinkedIn.<\/p>\n It is also an increasingly connected market, with 92% using WhatsApp for instant messaging, followed by Facebook Messenger with 55% and BBM with 48%.<\/p>\n Mxit has lost appeal, waning to 17%.<\/p>\n According to the survey, Wi-Fi hotspots are students\u2019 most important form of connecting to the Internet, while their campus is the most common location for connecting.<\/p>\n Facebook South Africa user numbers<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nMore on World Wide Worx<\/h3>\n