Disqus
comScore today released the latest figures from the M:Metrics Benchmark Study which reports that photo messaging (MMS) from mobile phones has grown 60 percent in the United States over the past year and 16 percent in Europe, where photo messaging got an earlier start. Interestingly, the stats show that for the US, in both July and August, there is an upswing in the usage of photo messaging, correlating with the warmer months.
“Summer vacations provide the perfect context for photo messaging, as the utility of instantly sharing a holiday moment with loved ones is undeniably compelling,” commented Mark Donovan, senior vice president, comScore Mobile Products. “The cameraphone could replace the postcard as the preferred mode to say ‘wish you were here,’ as even parents and grandparents are snapping and sending photos from their mobile devices.”
In Europe, where photo messaging is more mature, usage rates are more consistent throughout the year, rising only slightly in summer. Instead, usage spikes are much more pronounced during December, as families share Christmas holiday celebrations and send photos from their newly acquired phones.
The age of those using Photo Messaging may also come as a surprise – the M:Metrics Benchmark Study indicates that the photo messaging growth in the U.S. is coming from all age demographic segments, with the fastest growth coming from teens and those older than 35. In the more developed European market, the strongest growth is coming from those aged 55 years and older.
I always find these sorts of studies fascinating, as often they turn up unexpected results – it also says a lot about the quality of user experience delivered in Handset UIs, if those over 55 can send a picture message without hassle – turn the clock back only a few short years and you needed a computer science degree to figure out how to make picture messaging work!
If you want to read the detailed press release, including a bevy of stats in tabular format, you can go here.
About The Author
Ben Robinson
Ben is a 10+ year veteran of the Mobile industry – starting his career when SMS was a still a relatively new concept for most people (!), he has now consulted on everything from bleeding-edge Mobile content, to the next-gen accessories you might view it on. As a result he has a broad and deep knowledge in numerous areas of Mobile – from network operators to device vendors, to infrastructure and middleware vendors (not to mention content delivery) – and has worked for companies in all of these areas! He is based in the UK, a hotbed of activity for mobile, and recently became a father for the second time – as oppose to in his younger years when he was happy spend time tweaking all manner of mobile devices to 'nth' degree, he now looks for services and hardware that provide the most efficient, compact, and reliable improvements to his already manic life! It’s his opinion that Mobile solutions should be there to help to make your life better – if a particular solution (be it service or device) isn’t doing this, he believes you need to ask the very important question of why you continue to use it... His focus at IntoMobile is mainly on Mobile content, services, and infrastructure, particularly as regards the UK market – and with the occasional look at devices. Additionally, using his extensive experience in the industry, he will provide commentary on the industry at large, with regular (and hopefully thought-provoking) articles.
