Research Discovers That Phones Are Phones

Mobeon commissioned a survey which found that “only 17% of those with a mobile use their phone for anything other than to make calls or send text messages on a daily basis, avoiding the more complex features available”. Examples of advanced features not used by consumers include call diverts, picture galleries, calendars, MMS, email or web access. I think the important thing to note here is “on a daily basis”. Many useful mobile features are only used occasionally — for example many people only use mobile e-mail when they’re away from the office.
A very good point is made, though: “The development of many mobile services today has been driven by engineers,” said Birgitta Olson, head of marketing, Mobeon. “In too many cases market research and product development takes place in the reverse order. It sounds obvious, but it is vital to respond to consumer desires rather than try to dictate them.”
The suggestion is also made that carriers should focus on showing their customers “that they don’t need to purchase add-ons from content providers like ringtone companies, but can personalise services that they provide, such as voicemail”.
Incidentally, Mobeon sells most of the applications it claims people aren’t using… (via Textually.org)

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