Divergent Meaning of Convergent Mobile Phone from Generic Mobile Phone‪.‬

INTRODUCTION In 2009, more than 95% people use mobile phones in Korea. Generic mobile phones became one of the necessities in modern society, replacing cord phones. However, with the arrival of the digital convergence era, there has been a change in the mobile phone market. To increase sales and profit in the matured mobile phone market, handset makers and mobile communication providers competitively introduced convergent mobile phones and services. They tried not only to make the 'pie' bigger but also to take the pie. Therefore, to survive and win the competition, it was required to understand how consumers use the newly introduced convergent mobile phones and services and what are the meaning of the phones and services for consumers.