Enpocket has unveiled the findings from its quarterly US Mobile Media Monitor.
The quarterly analysis from Enpocket Insight helps marketers and wireless carriers understand the changing patterns of mobile usage.
The latest mobile media monitor from Enpocket reveals that penetration of mobile phones in the US is increasing rapidly – the penetration rose 8% from 53% in Q2 to 61% in Q3 of 2004. This means there are now 128 million adults using a mobile phone in the US.
While mobile is often thought of as a youth medium, Enpocket found that the peak of adoption actually occurs in the 35-49 year age group, where 7 out of 10 people use a mobile phone. There is also a very strong correlation between phone use and income – for those earning less than $20,000 per year the penetration is only 38% – rising to 83% for those earning $75,000 or higher.
The Mobile Media Monitor also indicates increased sophistication of usage in the US market. The fastest growing media downloads are Java and BREW games, which show a 75% increase quarter over quarter. In Q2 there were 4.4 million adults downloading games to their phones – this has risen to 7.7 million in Q3. This growth is particularly dramatic in the 18-25 year age group. In Q2 11% (or 2 million) of 18-25 year-old phone owners were downloading games – rising to 22% (4 million) by Q3 2004.
The following results show significant increases in the number of adults downloading all media types:
— Graphics (wallpaper, icons, logos, etc) has increased at an incredible rate – 57% increase to 11 million active adults
— People downloading monophonic ringtones (the most popular downloadable media type) has increased 32% to 18.6 million adults
— Similarly polyphonic ringtones have increased 28% to 11 million adults
The other area of significant change in the US market is the use of text to interact with media. While still in its infancy, an increasing number of media vehicles offering text as an interactive path to their consumers are producing real changes in usage patterns. Three percent of adult phone users claim to have sent a text message to a TV show – more than double the previous quarter, and two percent have sent a text to a radio station – again more than double Q2 figure.
“As the demand for content on mobile phones increases, it presents a huge opportunity for brands to connect with their customers anywhere they are on this truly personal device,” commented Jonathon Linner, CEO of Enpocket. “The Mobile Media Monitor offers invaluable insight into the evolving mobile marketing and behavioral space, allowing marketers and carriers to deliver more valuable content to consumers.”
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