Customers Want Advanced Mobile Services, but Aren’t Buying Them

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Customers Want Advanced Mobile Services, but Aren’t Buying Them

6:00 am on April 13, 2006 | Category: Mobile Devices

Only a small portion of Americans use their mobile phones for advanced services like playing games, listing to music, and watching videos, but a significant percentage are interested in these services.

A nationwide study by Pew Internet, AOL, and the Associated Press found that only 6% of cell phone users play music on their devices, while 19% wish they had access to that feature. Just 2%, meanwhile, make active use of mobile TV or video services, but 14% say they want the ability to do so.

The reason for this discrepancy in numbers is largely because these technologies are fairly new, and can be scary to some users. There is also the issue that many phones don’t support such functionality, and not everyone can afford a handset that does.

There is little doubt that the market for advanced wireless services is potentially quite large, but ultimately, increasing popularity will only come with time, as users get used to the idea of having such features.

A clear majority of cell phone users (65%) have taken the time to customize their handsets by selecting their own wallpapers or ringtones, but the popularity of these simple features didn’t come overnight. Rather, the idea of handset personalization has become mainstream, and nearly all the phones currently on the market support this trend. Eventually, the same thing will almost certainly happen for advanced services like mobile music and video.