According to the recent study by telecom application connectivity specialist AppTrigger, despite 74% believing that the mobile services offered have improved – more than half (57%) of UK mobile phone owners use their phone for the same things that they did in 2003.
The survey — which queried 500 mobile phone users in the UK in January 2008, examined the usage of applications and services by UK mobile phone owners — suggests that while improvements have been made to mobile phone services in the competitive UK market, operators are slow to push out new offerings.
Highlights:
- Nearly half (48%) of users said that they have never received a sports, retail or entertainment promotion from their mobile operator. Of the 52% that have received promotions, 62% said that it was as infrequent as “a few times a year” or “almost never.”
- Of those who use more advanced services (beyond voice and SMS), 62% of 16-24 year olds said that they download music or games while 25-34 years olds said they are more likely to use their phones for PDA tools (diary, contacts and email) and checking websites — 62% and 69% respectively.
- The mainstream age market aged 35-44 tend to make commercial transactions with their phones with 39% who said they conduct transactions such as topping up their balance.
- Those most likely to use their phones for checking websites are surprisingly the mature age group of 45-55 year olds.
- Only 22% of mobile phone owners in all age groups said they have used Location-Based Services (LBS)
Finally the point. AppTrigger believes that mobile phone operators are largely locked into proprietary application suites and hindered by complex connectivity issues. The missed opportunity comes in the form of traditional IN-based applications such as pre-paid, voicemail and SMS…