MOBILE PHONES, INTERNET, AND GENDER IN MYANMAR Those few keypad phone owners (mostly older, rural, lower-income individuals) in the sample were actually satisfied with what they had since their primary usage motive was to make phone calls. They believed that smartphones were more complicated to use. Based on the qualitative research, most rural participants had low brand awareness; if they had any, it was Huawei. For them it was important to own any touchphone, regardless of the brand (Figure 15). In Pantanaw, the female qualitative respondents had no awareness of models and prices. Brand awareness among the Yangon qualitative respondents was high. The qualitative research suggests there are two categories or stages of awareness in urban areas. In the first category or stage, people do not want to have a smartphone, but they want a particular brand. Brands like Huawei and Samsung are popular (i.e. many aspire to own them even if they cannot afford them). The second stage (where younger and more affluent owners are), owners strive to have the latest model and most prestigious brand to show off their social status. There is a common belief that a cheap phone cannot be any good. Most female non-owners had no understanding of how to compare different brands or models. They did not know what to look for beyond generic features like ‘needs to have a touchscreen’, ‘want what others have’, or ‘want a big screen to play games.’ MOBILE PHONES, INTERNET, AND GENDER IN MYANMAR “Wives should have at least a keypad phone so that we can communicate when I am away. Everybody should have one otherwise you will be outdated.” Source: MSR Figure 15 Importance of handset brand INCREASING BRAND AWARENESS FGD, male owner, rural, 30–45, SEC C/D “My younger sister has the only mobile in the family. My father decided to buy one. She said that all her friends had a touchphone so I gave her favour and said that she can have it.” FGD, rural, male non-owner, 18–29 Moderator: “Did your husband tell you to buy a mobile phone?” Respondent: “Yes. But I can’t buy it because I don’t have enough money. Sometimes he gave money to buy a mobile phone. But I have to use it for school fees.” RURAL URBAN (Stage 1) URBAN (Stage 2) Product category focus: Brand focus: Brand focus / Model focus: • Primary motivation: Any smartphone • Secondary motivation: Popular brand smartphone (e.g. Huawei) • Huawei: Owned by many because affordable • Samsung: More aspirational, grants higher social status • iPhone or Samsung: Latest and most expensive model INCREASING AFFORDABILITY Female non-owner, 28, Yangon 38 “I want the latest model to feel modern.” • Making mobile handsets more affordable (e.g. through installment plans, micro-loans) will help many more to get connected. FGD Yangon, female non-owner, 18–29, non-working, SEC C/D • Developing simplified or scaled down smartphones (in terms of design and features) could improve the user experience. 39