Hong Kong has the fourth highest number of people owning hi-tech WAP phones in the Asia-Pacific region - but only one in four use them to surf the Internet, a survey has found.
According to the three-month study by online market research company Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS), Japan has the highest ownership of Wireless Application Protocol phones in the region.
The survey, which interviewed 8,164 people aged 15 to 65, found 44 per cent of Japanese adults had a WAP phone. Koreans were second with 21 per cent and Taiwanese third with 16 per cent.
In Hong Kong, where 1,010 people were interviewed, 14 per cent of respondents said they had a WAP phone, TNS director of interactive services Chan Chi-wing said. But only 25 per cent of those used them to surf the Net, compared with 62 per cent of Japanese owners.
Mr Chan attributed the low WAP Internet access rate in Hong Kong to slow download speeds and relatively expensive rates. Another reason was that Hong Kong people did not feel it was necessary as they could access the Internet at home and work.
He said in Japan, WAP users had access to free Internet services and charges only applied for downloading information. In Hong Kong, a monthly fee ranging between $50 and $100 is applied, with free air time of up to 200 minutes a month. Beyond that, there is a charge of up to $1 a minute.
