Smartphones more prevalent in Argentina (but hard to find)

Up to 15 percent of Argentines who access to Internet only do it through a smartphone.

By Fermín Koop
Herald Staff

Argentines are finding it more difficult to find variety as production of mobiles plunges

Smartphones are more prevalent in Argentina than anywhere else in South America. But buying a phone in the country can often be an exercise in frustration. A plunge in mobile phone production of 48 percent in the first quarter means there are only a few — and expensive — models to choose from.

As many as 33 percent of the mobile phones in the country are smartphones, higher than neighbouring Brazil, which has 29 percent, and only exceeded in Latin America by México’s 44 percent.

The demand for smartphones keeps growing and now represents between 80 and 90 percent of the total number of mobile phones sold in the country, according to Gustavo Fontanals, a media expert and researcher at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA).

Yet this country of mobile-phone lovers does not have a lot of phones in stock. Production in the first quarter of the year has plunged 48 percent, totalling 1.6 million phones compared to the three million in the same period last year, according to official figures.

“People who already had mobile phones started buying smartphones over the last few years, a process that has ben encouraged by companies. Argentina already had the highest prevalence of mobile phones and was able to maintain it now with smartphones,” Fontanals told the Herald. “On the other hand, the development of networks wasn’t fast enough for the high demand.”

There are about 37 million active mobile phones in the country, 18 million of which are smartphones, according to private reports. INDEC statistics bureau has reported a total 62 million mobile phones but a large part of them are not active, experts warn.

Up to 15 percent of the Argentines who access to Internet only do it through a smartphone, a much higher figure than the six percent reported in European countries such as Germany and England, according to Google, which placed the country at the top of the region for smartphone penetration.

“There’s a surprisingly high prevalence of smartphones in the country. It’s a much more personal device than a computer, and it has become the first option to access to Internet of young people and low-income sectors who can’t afford a broadband internet connection,” telecommunications specialist Enrique Carrier told the Herald. “More people will start choosing it as the main device to access to Internet.”

Smartphone usage in the country gets higher as age drops, reaching a 62 percent penetration in people under 25 years old. Among the main activities done in a smartphone, using social networks, doing an online search, checking e-mails and watching videos online rank the highest.

The use of computers has been on the wane and smartphones are set to become the main device to access the Internet by the end of 2016 or in the beginning of 2017, experts agree.

Lower production

The drop in mobile phone production is not due to lower demand, but rather a shortage of dollars to purchase the necessary parts to manufacture the phones.

“The mobile phone production sector in Tierra del Fuego used to receive lots of foreign-currency benefits. But now as the government needs more dollars it’s one of the most affected,” Fontanals said.

The production drop has led to 3,000 jobs lost since the second semester of 2014 as the contracts of many temporary workers haven’t been renewed, according to Carrier’s estimations. If the current production path continues, the year would end with between 9.5 and 10 million mobile phones manufactured, close to last year’s 11.4 million but lower than the 13 million produced in 2013.

Meanwhile, manufacturing fewer phones has lead to a much reduced variety to choose from and with steeper prices compared to other countries. While a top of the line mobile phone costs US$500 in the United States, it can be as high as US$1.700 in Argentina.

“Stores have fewer phones to sell and only a few brands and models. People keep buying smartphones and the demand remains high but there are much fewer and more expensive options to choose from,” Carrier said. “Companies are also limiting their deals on new phones as they don’t have many to sell due to the drop in production.”

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Director: Orlando Mario Vignatti - Edition No. 4483 - This publication is a property of NEFIR S.A. -RNPI Nº 5177376 - Issn 1852 - 9224 - Te. 4349-1500 - San Juan 141 , (C1063ACY) CABA