Disqus
According to Nielsen, 46.1 mobile data users in the U.S. used mobile search functions in the third quarter of 2007. Out of that number, Nielsen estimates that:
- The most popular form of mobile search among data users in Q3 2007 was 411 (18.1 million users), followed closely by SMS-based searching, which was used by 14.1 million users during the same period.
- Local listings were the leading search objective in terms of users (27.1 million), while 14.8 million said they searched for information such as sports scores, news or weather. Finally, nearly a quarter (11.3 million) said they searched for mobile content.
From a demographic perspective, Nielsen reports that among mobile data users:
- Demographics vary by search method. 61% of 411 search users are female, while 60% of WAP (or mobile web) search users are male.
- SMS-based searching skews younger when compared to other methods of search. In fact, 33% of SMS searchers are under 25.
- Within SMS search providers, Yahoo!, YellowPages SMS and SuperPages SMS all over-index for Hispanic users.
Those interested to know more — and pay for the information — can grab Nielsen’s “Mobile Search Report” which contains much more information on the subject.
About The Author
Dusan Belic
Dusan has been using smartphones since their introduction and is now following the latest trends in the industry. The "convergence" is what he's most excited about, and writing about it is the next logical thing to do. He thinks that using a smartphone is what everyone who cares about their time should do. In addition to his interests in mobile phones, Dusan also loves to experiment with the latest web and mobile 2.0 services. The idea of accessing and managing your information from any device no matter where you are simply amazes him. Whether it's an online to-do list, note taking service or a video sharing social network, he's there to try it out. He admits though, he's still searching for the ultimate web-based organizational tool, which "sings" perfectly with the mobile PIM application. Dusan used to run SymbianWatch.com which later became part of IntoMobile. He lives in Serbia, South-East Europe, from where he edits the site on a daily basis.
