Mobile Data Too Hard, Too Expensive

http://www.moconews.net/?p=4108

Mobile Data Too Hard, Too Expensive
Related Topics: Research — Permalink - [by james]

A couple of surveys have come out saying pretty much the same thing: People will be more encouraged to use mobile content if it costs less.
A study by A.T. Kearney of 4,000 mobile phone users in 21 countries was mostly positive, finding that more than half of mobile handsets are less then a year old and have “robust multimedia capabilities that are increasingly understood by their users”. 54% of multimedia phone users said they use their phones to access the internet or check e-mail at least once a month, up from 36% in 2004 — Nearly two-thirds of users said new services and functions were easy to understand and enjoyable to use.

* One third of users with these phones download music monthly, up from 21 % in 2004.
* Globally, 16 % of users with multimedia phones reported downloading mobile games at least monthly.
* 17 % of users (and 27 % of those under age 24) said they were willing to pay for mobile TV,
the most recently touted mobile entertainment service. However, two-thirds of users expressed a desire for time-sensitive TV content such as news and sports rather than entertainment shows.

However, a third of mobile users are worried about the cost of mobile data and about half say they are not willing to pay mroe than $5 per month for it…”Thirty-five percent of consumers cited poor content as the reason they don’t access multimedia services, a considerable increase from just 8 percent in 2004.”

Meanwhile, a new NOP survey commissioned by Olista (a service experience assurance company — take note) has revealed that users who encounter problems in using new mobile data services will simply give up rather than seek assistance. According to the survey of 1000 adults carried out in September 2005, 64% of those who had actually tried to use a mobile data service such as picture messaging, ring tones and gaming downloads confessed that they would give up trying after one or two attempts. A mere 2% claimed that they would actually seek assistance from their operator or content provider and 25% said they would carry on trying until it worked…When quizzed on what would encourage them to use more mobile data services, lower prices and easier to use services were top of the list with 53% and 43% of respondents, whilst 32% also felt that better help and advice at point of sale would influence them positively.