TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: Mobile Phones: Half Want the Extras; Half Don't

Mobile Phones: Half Want the Extras; Half Don't

Marcus Didius Falco (falco_marcus_didius@yahoo.co.uk)
Sun, 04 Sep 2005 23:36:18 -0400

Please reply on list. I'm not checking this email very often.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/business/mobile-phones-half-want-the-extras-half-=
dont/2005/08/31/1125302629053.html

Welcome to Sydney Morning Herald Online.
Mobile phones: half want the extras, half don't

By Julian Lee Marketing Reporter
September 1, 2005

Women buy more ring tones for their mobile phones than men, are more likely
to get Samsung handsets and regularly dial up for astrology. Men use
their
mobiles for news, sport, comedy and porn.

As for married couples, the latest movie reviews are the most popular
landing spot.

These are among the findings of a study by the Australian Interactive Media
Industry Association of Australia's 18 million mobile phone users.

"This comprehensively tells us what people are doing with their phones
and it gives us something to go on in determining why," said Oliver
Weidlich, an Ideal Interfaces "usability" expert and co-author of the
Report on the Australian Mobile Content Customer.

One-third of respondents said they liked the services on mobile phones
and found them useful and those who were already using 3G networks
bought "significantly" more than users of other networks.

One-third had bought a ring tone in the last year, one-quarter an accessory
for their phone.

Those who had bought a wallpaper, logo or screensaver for their
handset had done so an average of seven times a year.

But perhaps the most sobering finding was the number of people who did
not want any content on their phone. Fifty-one per cent of respondents
said: "I don't care; I just want to use it for phone calls."

Almost everyone used SMS; women more than men. Just one-fifth used picture
messaging. A mere 6 per cent used their phones for email.

When it came to services they would like to see in future, nearly half said=
maps and more ring tones, and 44 per cent wanted timetables for trains and
buses. Two-thirds wanted email and more than half instant messaging
services.

But Mr Weidlich said marketers needed to realise mobile phone services had
not always lived up to expectations.

Claudia Sagripanti, convenor of the Australian Interactive Media
Industry Association's mobile content group, said: "This survey shows
that people have come back and purchased repeatedly so the experience
has got better since things like WAP [wireless application protocol],
which was a few years ago, and the industry is very careful about
overpromising."

The study surveyed 2486 people, 80 per cent of them under 35, in April.

- Optus has 33% of subscribers, Telstra 31%, Vodafone 17%

- Of owners, 60% have Nokia phones, 10% Sony Ericsson, 10% Motorola, 8%
Samsung, 6% LG

- News services draw 17% of users, sport 13%, weather 13%, astrology 12%

Copyright 2005. The Sydney Morning Herald.

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