How Large is Your Phone? A Cross-cultural Study of Smartphone Comfort Perception and Preference between Germans and Chinese☆

Abstract This research was aimed at evaluating how various screen sizes of smartphones were accepted among users from different culture backgrounds, from both physiological and psychological points of view. A paper-based questionnaire was designed to survey among 70 Chinese and German smartphone users in university campus. In the questionnaire, respondents’ demographic information and their current smartphone models were collected. Respondents’ perception of comfort during different tasks with their current smartphones and their holding positions was also collected. Besides, the questionnaire covered the important factors or specifications of a smartphone for the purchase decision. The results revealed that physiological comfort perception did not have significant correlations with customers’ choice of large screen smartphone. The cross-cultural comparison showed that Chinese customers thought prestige aspects more important than German customers. The impact of this consuming viewpoints was discussed.