Embedded content is now one of the key factors in determining which new mobile handset consumers choose, according to the results of a poll published today by GetJar, the world’s leading independent app store. 69% of respondents indicated that the content provided with a new phone is now more important to their purchase decision than price, design or even touch screen capability.

The poll, conducted across the 130 countries in the GetJar network, asked respondents to rank a list of 10 phone features by order of importance including brand, screen size/ resolution, user experience/ phone software, phone memory, quality of camera, price, touch screen, music player, embedded content and overall design/ look and feel. They were also asked to grade each of those features individually on a five-level scale of importance.

When ranking the most important features their new phone must have, brand remains the number one factor for consumers with nearly a third of respondents (28%) placing that at the top of their list of criteria, ahead of user experience (17%). The content that comes with the handset was third with 12% of respondents worldwide saying it is ‘extremely important’ to their choice of new handset ahead of phone memory (8%), price (5%) and design (7%).

“While the phone’s user interface and brand prove to be dominant factors for deciding which handset consumers choose, the big change in consumer preference we see within this survey is the importance they are placing on content,” said Ilja Laurs, founder and CEO of GetJar Networks. “With nearly five years experience distributing mobile applications to consumers around the world, GetJar brings quality content directly to consumers in the easiest and quickest way possible. GetJar generates over 22 million downloads per month, so we know how important content is to consumers, and these poll results indicate that they also want top quality content in place when choosing a new mobile phone.”

Content creating strong international demand – GetJar’s poll showed increased demand for embedded content across all the major international regions but consumers in the US placed it higher on their list of priorities than those in Europe, with 60% of US respondents stating that it was ‘extremely important’ to their choice of handset compared to 47% in Europe.

The findings also indicate that the uptake of new handsets will be faster in Europe with only 25% of those surveyed saying they will not get a new phone this year compared to a massive 40% of US consumers polled.

In Asia, brand was again the key overall factor for phone choice with 28% of consumers saying this was the number one attribute for them. Second was user interface / phone software with 18% and content a strong third with 14%. Price was only cited as the most important factor by 5%.

In India specifically, a massive 60% of respondents considered the phone interface/software to be extremely important to their choice of handset, alongside the quality of the camera (also 60%). When asked about their plans to get a new phone in 2009, 30% said they did not expect to purchase or upgrade in 2009.