The mobile market in Romania is beginning to evolve. The emergence of smartphones worldwide has changed the way people think about their mobile phone, and Romania will be no different. A mobile phone is no long just a phone, but a portable computing device with a multitude on new uses (games, information access, productivity tools, etc.). The pace of the transition in Romania may be lagging other markets, but the increase in device selection and fast, affordable data plans is driving further penetration of smartphones in Romania. Given that the Romania mobile market is less developed, the available research on it is considerably less. Therefore, we have decided to undertake a research project to assess the state of the local Romanian mobile market.
To kick off our research, we conducting a brief interview with a local Romanian mobile expert, Dan Virtopeanu, General Manager at Voxline Communication, whom we met at Mobile Monday Romania. In Dan’s presentation at Mobile Monday, he covers a variety of aspects of the global mobile market, many of which are applicable to Romania developers targeting international markets. However, we have taken this opportunity to ask him some questions regarding the Romanian end-market for mobile phones.
We will be presenting our findings in a multi-part blog series, each part covering a major component of the mobile market. The interview below provides some brief thoughts on each component from one of Romania’s leading mobile experts.
Question 1: Smartphone penetration. Do you have any estimates of smartphone penetration in Romania? Exact stats are hard to obtain, but do you have any rough estimates of the order of magnitude?
Answer: My estimate, which is a rough one goes for 2 million smartphones.
Question 2: Mobile OS growth trends. How do you see the market shares of mobile operating systems for smartphones evolving in Romania? Romania has different characteristics than markets such as the US, will this effect the relative market shares of iPhone/Android/Symbian/Others in Romania versus the global market?
Answer: Different figures show a small penetration of IOS, Android and BlackBerry (less than 15% of total smartphone), Symbian dominates as Nokia has a major market share in Romania. I would say Romania is closer to India and S-E Asia countries where Symbian is the main OS among smartphones, unlike US.
Question 3: Apps. Can you discuss your thoughts on local Romanian app usage between app categories (games, entertainment, utility, content). Is this a function of user demand or or a lack of locally-oriented app supply?
Answer: The small number of smartphones is an issue for a Romanian app developer. This is why we don't have too many local apps and when an app reaches 10.000 downloads is considered a success. However I'm sure that apps like Ovi Maps, Google Maps, Facebook app are quite popular for Romanian smartphone users.
Question 4: Developers. Do you have any advice for mobile developers regarding platform choice and building native vs. mobile web apps. Should this vary by operating system?
Answer: Depends on the market. If they target international market (US, Western Europe) Android and IOS could be a good choice. If they target local market I would recommend them mobile web apps as they can reach much higher audience.
Question 5: Mobile Advertising. What forms of mobile advertising do you think provide the most opportunity for developers and advertisers in Romania (mobile apps, search, SMS, etc.) and why?
Answer: For advertisers SMS rules as this is the way to reach huge and broad range of recipients. For a developer who wants to advertise his app I would recommend mobile web as the most efficient (they can target only people with compatible devices and pay only for visits to the download page)
Question 6: Advertising vs. Other Monetization Methods. What form of monetization do you think provide the most opportunity for developers targeting the Romanian market?
Answer: The Romanian market is very low, therefore neither advertising or premium app can generate enough money from apps. I would try to go for premium app, but the niche is quite small, so the income will be also small.
To read the Romanian version of the interview, go to: Starea pietei de smartphone in Romania - Interviu cu Dan Virtopeanu.
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