NPD Group has issued a survey on what people look for when buying mobile phone handsets—price came in as the 12th most important criteria for buyers. The top two were “having the desired capabilities” and “a flip-phone form factor”. This is seen as a sign of a sophisticated market with buyers who know what they want, but NPD hedges a bit: “That said, while consumers are reluctant to cite a low price as a reason for purchasing a particular handset, consumers can certainly be de-motivated to purchase if a price is too high.” This is very true…in a survey people might not cite price as a driving factor in buying a phone, but at the cash register most people will have the cheapest phone they can get which has what they absolutely need/want. New services that consumers haven’t developed an attachment to will need to be subsidized so they can get used to them. It should also be recognized that the “desired capabilities” could well be voice, SMS and address book. The figures are also separated into age and gender differences. (Release