Tuesday, March 18,2008 @ 4:05pm
iPhone users more likely to access rich content
M:Metrics, a mobile metrics research group, has found the iPhone to be the great game-changer for the wireless industry, saying that it effectively lives up to the hype surrounding the device. Mark Donovan, senior analyst for M:Metrics, said that the iPhone is "compelling consumers to interact with the mobile web," citing "off-the-charts" usage for tasks including text messaging and mobile video. The firm's figures show that 85-percent of all iPhone users access news and other remote information during January.
Among the figures discovered were 30.9-percent of iPhone users watching mobile TV or video, contrasting the industry average of 4.6-percent, and doubling that of smartphones. 49.7-percent of users would access social networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace, or over 12 times the market average. Facebook, for example, was accessed by 20-percent of iPhone users, whereas other devices showed a 1.5-percent access rate.
"This data indicates that the iPhone’s widgets are and effective means to drive mobile content consumption," said Donovan. "Two featured widgets, YouTube and Google Maps are extremely popular among iPhone users: 30.4 percent accessed YouTube and 36 percent used Google Maps. In comparison, only one percent of all mobile subscribers accessed YouTube and 2.6 percent checked out Google Maps."
M:Metrics also found that 74.1-percent of all iPhone users take advantage of the iPod music functionality, contrasting a 6.7-percent market average. 84-percent of iPhone owners who use a separate MP3 player said that they use an iPod.
The study revealed that the central demographic composition of iPhone users was similar to that of smartphones, typically owned by males, aged 25 to 34, who earn over $100,000, and have a college degree.
"While the demographics of iPhone users are very similar to all smartphone owners, the iPhone is outpacing other smartphones in driving mobile content consumption by a significant margin," said Donovan. "In addition to the attributes of the device itself, another important factor to consider is the fact that all iPhones on AT&T are attached to an unlimited data plan. Our data shows that once the fear of surprise data charges is eliminated, mobile content consumption increases dramatically, regardless of device."
