BEIJING, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese millennials are heavy users of technology, with most owning smartphones and preferring the Internet for communication, the China Daily reported Saturday.
About 92 percent of Chinese aged 18 to 30 own smartphones, well above the global average of 67 percent, the report said, citing a joint survey by Spain-based telecommunications firm Telefonica SA and the Financial Times newspaper. Government data show the nation has about 270 million people aged 18 to 30.
The report said people born between the mid-1980s and late 1990s are considered millennials. They grew up with the Internet, and they are heavy users of social networks.
"Clearly, millennials are the smartphone generation," said Caspar Luyten, chief regional officer of Telefonica Asia.
The country's position as the world's major smartphone maker, combined with its rapid growth, has fueled smartphones' popularity, Luyten said.
China overtook the United States as the world's biggest smartphone market by shipments two years ago. About 95 percent of mobile phones shipped in China will be smartphones by 2017 and the country will become one of the world's top smartphone markets after the U.S. and the European Union in terms of penetration rate, the report said.
Domestic smartphone makers were among the first to see the business value of the nation's millennial population.
Yulong Computer Telecommunication Scientific Co Ltd, maker of Coolpad smartphones, has been among the most active in targeting the millennials.
Accounting for 11.6 percent of the smartphones sold in April, the Shenzhen-based Yulong is the biggest domestic cell phone manufacturer by sales, according to Sino Market Research.
Most of Yulong's devices cost about 1,000 yuan ($163), a widely accepted level for young buyers.
"When many smartphones sell at the same price as feature phones, it's easy for buyers to make the decision to purchase smartphones," Luyten said.
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