USA: Onderzoek over MMS door Enpocket

Enpocket Mobile Media Monitor US unveils photography as the nation’s favored content application. Multimedia Messaging finds its ideal audience amongst 25-34-year-olds

The latest survey asked consumers what type of applications they would be interested in using via their mobile phone.
Half of all surveyed said they are interested in sharing pictures with friends and family. 33% would like to use their mobiles phones to make or receive video calls, a wish that may become reality with faster data rates on the horizon. 29% want to use their phones to download songs.

Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), an extension of SMS that allows mobile users to exchange messages including a combination of text, color pictures, video and audio, is becoming more mainstream. In the 25-34-year-old demographic, MMS usage is now at 20%, a six-month growth rate of 100%.

With increased interest in MMS and photo sharing, many brands are looking to applications like mBlogging and peer-to-peer photo sharing, applications that best leverage camera phones.

The 18-24 year-old age group, who have traditionally been perceived as early adopters, have been slower to begin using MMS - 11% now use the service, however this still represents an increase of more than a third over the last six months. SMS continues its rise as the messaging medium of choice amongst this younger demographic - usage is now at 82%, compared to 51% in the 25-34 year old age group.

"Brands that are building deeper customer relationships in the vibrant and evolving mobile marketplace need detailed and comprehensive analysis of the most popular current and future applications," said Mike Baker, President and COO, Enpocket. "With the improved accessibility and affordability of picture messaging, 2005 will be the year when marketers start to target consumer segments with mobile applications that take advantage of camera phones."

The survey highlights how different demographics and genders use their mobile phones across the West, Midwest, South and Northeast.

Phase 3 of the Mobile Media Monitor (US) analysis was based on 1,000 telephone interviews undertaken by NOP World for Enpocket Insight in November 2004, and relates to the period September 2004 – November 2004. The base was representative of US mobile phone usage.