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11th July 2006 - M:Metrics, today issued the findings of
its May Benchmark Survey. The firm found that while smart-phone
owners comprise a small percentage of the overall population
of mobile phone users, large percentages of smart-phone users
are consuming mobile content. Contrary to popular belief,
those carrying these powerful devices are not using them exclusively
for productivity applications, but are also using them to
view mobile video, play mobile games and listen to mobile
music in addition to using them for personal e-mail and wireless
Web access.
| Country |
Smart-phone penetration |
Played downloaded game |
Watched mobile video |
Used E-Mail |
Listened to mobile music |
Sent photo or video over network |
Accessed news and information |
| France |
3.40% |
12.00% |
15.10% |
20.30% |
18.70% |
45.70% |
39.10% |
| Germany |
5.80% |
15.50% |
7.70% |
18.90% |
19.90% |
33.70% |
22.30% |
| United Kingdom |
6.60% |
23.00% |
9.10% |
20.90% |
24.80% |
47.30% |
39.70% |
| United States |
2.00% |
22.30% |
8.80% |
50.80% |
16.10% |
22.80% |
54.60% |
| Source: M:Metrics, Inc., Copyright © 2006.
Survey of mobile subscribers. Data based on three-month
moving average for period ending 31 May, 2006, n= 12,631
French, n=15,122 German, n=14,913 UK, n=33,952 U.S. mobile
subscribers. |
Compared to the average mobile phone subscribers, smart-phone
owners are avid users of mobile multimedia. In France and
Germany, nearly half of smart-phone owners sent video or a
photo over the network, compared with a market average of
(18.6) percent in France, and (19.5) percent in Germany. Nearly
a quarter of UK smart-phone owners reported listening to music
on their handset, versus the average of 5.8 percent.
The parallels are similar across the geographies. French
smart-phone owners are a staggering 11 times more likely to
listen to music on their handset compared with the market
average of 1.7 percent, while their American counterparts
are more than eight times more likely to do so. Video has
been particularly popular among French smart-phone owners,
at 15.1 percent, versus a countrywide average of 1.8 percent.
There is also a relatively high conversion rate to video among
U.S. smart-phone owners, who are more than six times more
likely to watch video than a random subscriber, as the U.S.
average for video consumption is 1.3 percent.
“Whereas mass-market Symbian devices have flooded the
European market, the smart-phones in the hands of most U.S.
consumers are high-end devices produced by Palm and RIM that
are targeted to appeal to mobile professionals concerned with
personal productivity,” said Seamus McAteer, senior analyst
and chief product architect, M:Metrics. “The Motorola
Q, which is being marketed heavily as a stylish device that’s
fun as well as productive, and is being offered at consumer-friendly
price points, could help broaden the market for smart-phones
and spur content consumption.”
At two percent penetration, the U.S. lags Western Europe
in Smart-phone ownership. Britain tops France and Germany,
at 6.6 percent market adoption. All the top three devices
in France, Germany and the United Kingdom are Nokia devices.
The Palm Treo is the smart device of choice for Americans,
followed by the BlackBerry.
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