Selling 3G to users
Russell writes about a recent survey where only 4% of people questioned said they'd like to upgrade to 3G.
Well, duh. I'm sure if you'd conducted surveys in the mid 1990s asking the public what they thought of v32bis modems, you'd have had blank stares and "no I don't think I need one of them"... despite the fact that they drove the uptake of the consumer internet. 3G is a network technology which no-one outside of the telecomms industry should care about, just as no-one cares about ADSL or cable.
I'm with Russell when says that 3G needs to be sold on benefits, not features; but similarly, if you're going to conduct research into this area, your research should be similarly aligned - if you want to get any meaningful results.
Out of interest - anyone know what the "bewildering number of features" on 3G handsets refers to? Whilst many 3G handsets have appalling user interfaces, I've not seen much on them that isn't available on 2.5G or lower... so was this survey measuring public perceptions of 3G by people who've not used it yet?