• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, October 30, 2008

According to Azuki Systems, Inc., the results of its first annual U.S. mobile phone user survey found that over 54% of those surveyed said their mobile phone usage had increased by more than 25% over the last two years, and one in five respondents said it had increased by more than 50%. A significant catalyst behind this growth is smart phone adoption, with 62% of respondents indicating they either own or will own such a device in the next 12 months.

Almost 80% of those surveyed said they wished it were easier to access information from the Internet on their mobile phones, and an equal percentage stated they wished it were easier to access rich media on their mobile phones.

The majority of those surveyed pointed to a number of current obstacles to enjoying rich media on mobile:

• 69% felt that the long time to download and/or play media ranked among their top three barriers
• 66% felt that difficulties finding and navigating to relevant content was a top three inhibitor.

Jim Ricotta, CEO of Azuki Systems, said "Mobile device technology... mobile content, and application development is on the rise... however... there is still work to be done in order to deliver truly usable mobile content to today's mobile devices... (which) requires a different consumption and interaction model where... it is less about browsing and more about glancing to ‘snack' on media."

U.S. mobile phone users are spending a significant amount of time on their phones, which highlights the fact that core consumer services have expanded beyond voice to include messaging and data services, as well as broader Web and more advanced content services. Survey findings showed:

• 33% talk on their mobile phones more than 10 hours per week. The youngest generation is spending even more time, with 34% of those 17 and younger talking for more than 15 hours/week.
• Of the 79% who send text messages from their phones, 29% do so for more than two hours/week. Again, the younger generations prove to be power users, with 37% of those less than the age of 22 texting for more than two hours/week. With only a gradual drop-off in text messaging for 23 to 44 year-olds, a generational gap is evident with a sharp decline to almost no usage for those approaching age 60 and older.
• 50% access their e-mails from their mobile phones, with nearly 30% of those between the ages of 35 and 44 doing so for more than two hours per week.
• 52% access the Web via their mobile phones, and 35 to 44 year-olds are leveraging this technology the most, with 60% spending time each week surfing the Web
• 25% access video on their mobile phones, with 88% of this group spending less than two hours/week, which indicates a growing appetite for rich media with shorter duration viewing patterns
• 25% of mobile users are accessing social networking sites from their mobile devices with one in seven respondents between the ages of 23 to 34 doing so for more than two hours/week. Sixty-four percent of those surveyed reported that they would share content via their mobile phone with their contacts from social networking sites if it were easier
• 65% would take advantage of mobile phones that had location tracking capabilities that would present them with promotions for local businesses

For more information, please visit Azuki Systems here.