• by Wayne Friedman , August 9, 2010

Faster mobile video and video on tablet PCs were born in the U.S. and European markets -- but other countries in Asia-Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East look to grow more rapidly with these technologies among consumers.

For example, during March 2010, when it comes to mobile video usage, the Asia-Pacific countries over-index the world as a whole, scoring 145. Middle East, Africa and Pakistan were next at 136, followed by Latin America at 118. Way down the list are the European Union countries at a 55 index and North America at 45. This is according to a recent global study done by Nielsen.

Nielsen says some usage may be the result of a lack of other screens available on those markets -- traditional TV, desktop and laptop computer screens. It also relates to video consumption at work -- where some of the same indexes apply to territories.

Asia-Pacific countries over-indexed to a 128 number in mobile video usage at work. The Middle East, Africa and Pakistan came in with a 119 number; Latin America was at 112 -- and far down the list were the European Union and North America, at a 60 index each.

Mobile video usage continues to trend higher among younger consumers. For example, adults 25-29 over-indexed mobile usage by 73%, while adults 60-64 under-indexed by 73%. Men over-indexed mobile usage by 18%, and women under-indexed by 9%.

Total overall usage for mobile video is still dominated by the U.S.

In looking at the fourth quarter of 2009/first quarter of 2010, the U.S. holds a 8.8% share. Nielsen says the U.S. is under the average of global mobile video penetration, which stands at an 11% rate. After the U.S., France comes next with an 8.0% overall usage number, followed by China at 5.8%, the U.K. at 4.7%, and Canada at 4.6%.