Day: July 11, 2006

M:Metrics, the mobile market authority, 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. Table 1: Smart-phone penetration and consumptionCountry 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 informationFrance 3.4% 12.0% 15.1% 20.3% 18.7% 45.7% 39.1%Germany 5.8% 15.5% 7.7% 18.9% 19.9% 33.7% 22.3%United Kingdom 6.6% 23.0% 9.1% 20.9% 24.8% 47.3% 39.7%United States 2.0% 22.3% 8.8% 50.8% 16.1% 22.8% 54.6%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. Table 2: Most Popular Smart-phones Used as Primary HandsetTop 3 Smart-phones – France SubscribersNokia 6680 374,477Nokia 6630 287,723Nokia 6600 98,122Top 3 Smart-phones – Germany SubscribersNokia 6630 278,818Nokia 6600 250,682Nokia 7650 237,449Top 3 Smart-phones – UK SubscribersNokia N70 471,874Nokia 6680 433,405Nokia 6630 341,718Top 3 Smart-phones – US SubscribersPalm Treo 650CDMA 573,660Palm Treo 650GSM 269,053RIM BlackBerry 7520 267,912Source: 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. “Without a doubt, Symbian devices compel their owners to use mobile content. Varying by networks in the UK, 45 to 70 percent of N-70 users report that they used their phone to download or browse for content,” said Paul Goode, vice president and senior analyst, M:Metrics. “We’re seeing impressive conversion rates across all forms of mobile content among users of these handsets, and see a direct correlation between device attributes (screen size, screen resolution and network speed) and propensity to consume content.” M:Metrics applies trusted media measurement methodologies to assess the audience for mobile content and applications. As the world’s most authoritative mobile market measurement firm, M:Metrics delivers the most accurate mobile market metrics through the largest monthly survey of mobile subscribers in the U.S., U.K., Germany and France, as well as automated data collection methodologies. Below are the findings of its May Benchmark Survey. French Mobile Subscriber Monthly Consumption of Content and ApplicationsM:Metrics Benchmark Survey: May 2006Activity Subscribers (1000s) Pct Pct ChangeSent Text Message 29,355 69.1% 0.7%Used Photo Messaging 7,919 18.6% 8.1%Browsed News and Information 3,319 7.8% 7.6%Purchased Ringtone 2,748 6.5% (3.4%)Used Personal E-Mail 2,548 6.0% 11.6%Purchased Wallpaper or Screensaver 1,313 3.1% (0.6%)Used Mobile Instant Messenger 1,241 2.9% 7.9%Used Work E-Mail 857 2.0% 9.7%Downloaded Mobile Game 500 1.2% 13.9%Source: M:Metrics, Inc., Copyright © 2006. Survey of French mobile subscribers. Data based on three-month moving average for period ending 31 May, 2006, n= 12,631 German Mobile Subscriber Monthly Consumption of Content and ApplicationsM:Metrics Benchmark Survey: May 2006Activity Subscribers (1000s) Pct Pct ChangeSent Text Message 35,606 80.0% 2.6%Used Photo Messaging 8,696 19.5% 4.0%Purchased Ringtone 3,007 6.8% (0.2%)Used Personal E-Mail 2,716 6.1% 0.4%Browsed News and Information 1,763 4.0% (3.5%)Used Mobile Instant Messenger 1,547 3.5% (0.9%)Used Work E-Mail 1,399 3.1% 3.8%Purchased Wallpaper or Screensaver 1,289 2.9% 0.2%Downloaded Mobile Game 1,079 2.4% 1.6%Source: M:Metrics, Inc., Copyright © 2006. Survey of German mobile subscribers. Data based on three-month moving average for period ending 31 May, 2006, n= 15,122 U.K. Mobile Subscriber Monthly Consumption of Content and ApplicationsM:Metrics Benchmark Survey: May 2006Activity Subscribers (1000s) Pct Pct ChangeSent Text Message 36,359 84.6% (0.1%)Used Photo Messaging 12,879 30.0% 1.6%Browsed News and Information 6,376 14.8% (1.1%)Used Personal E-Mail 2,892 6.7% 0.0%Purchased Ringtone 2,562 6.0% (6.6%)Downloaded Mobile Game 1,953 4.5% (4.9%)Used Mobile Instant Messenger 1,754 4.1% 1.4%Used Work E-Mail 1,337 3.1% 3.9%Purchased Wallpaper or Screensaver 994 2.3% (2.4%)Source: M:Metrics, Inc., Copyright © 2006. Survey of U.K. mobile subscribers. Data based on three-month moving average for period ending 31 May, 2006, n= 14,913 U.S. Mobile Subscriber Monthly Consumption of Content and ApplicationsM:Metrics Benchmark Survey: May 2006Activity Subscribers (1000s) Pct Pct ChangeSent Text Message 69,048 36.3% 5.9%Used Photo Messaging 22,644 11.9% 8.0%Browsed News and Information 19,038 10.0% 5.4%Purchased Ringtone 18,830 9.9% 4.0%Used Personal E-Mail 13,823 7.3% 7.2%Used Mobile Instant Messenger 12,221 6.4% 4.6%Used Work E-Mail 7,984 4.2% 8.4%Purchased Wallpaper or Screensaver 6,609 3.5% (1.8%)Downloaded Mobile Game 4,840 2.5% 8.5%Source: M:Metrics, Inc., Copyright © 2006. Survey of U.S. mobile subscribers. Data based on three-month moving average for period ending 31 May, 2006, n= 33,952

“D-Link today began shipping its flip-style Wi-Fi Phone that combines the cost-savings of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology with 802.11 wireless connectivity in a compact Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)-based package.The sleek portable D-Link Wi-Fi Phone, together with an Internet VoIP phone service, provides both consumers and businesses a stylish way to dramatically reduce local and long distance telephone charges compared to standard telephone service. VoIP phone calls can be made where there is a Wi-Fi network or open hot spot to the Internet without the use of a PC.Weighing only 3.74 ounces in a compact clamshell design, the phones feature large, bright color displays for easy viewing of numbers as they are dialed, storage of up to 100 address book entries, caller ID and polyphonic ring tones with seven-step volume control, as well as support for redial, mute, hold and text messaging. Users can expect about three hours of talk time and 70 hours of standby time on a single charge of the Li-Ion, 900mAh battery. An external power adapter and mini-USB cable are included.The D-Link Wi-Fi Phone has the same look and feel of a flip-style cell phone, but is based on 802.11 wireless and VoIP technology. To make and receive calls, users need only an 802.11b, g or n wireless network with high-speed Internet access.In addition, the phone, which uses a Broadcom chipset for low-power consumption and a small footprint, offers echo cancellation, packet delay compensation and lost packet recovery, resulting in similar or improved voice quality over traditional phones. The D-Link Wi-Fi Phone uses the popular SIP technology and is ready to be used with many VoIP service plans.For accessing secure wireless networks, the Wi-Fi Phone supports WEP, WPA and WPA2 encryption.D-Link’s new Wi-Fi Phone is compliant with Public SIP Telephone Network (PsipTN), the telephony technology expected to be available in the third quarter this year. Users will be able to make and receive free calls within the network via a firmware upgrade and a one-year subscription. PsipTN also allows users to receive calls from regular phones for free.” via slashphone.com

“Palm has discretely released a stand-alone version of VersaMail 3.5 for all OS 5 Palm devices. Both Windows and Mac OS installers are now available for download from PalmGear. Note that VersaMail 3.5 is indended for use and installation with the Palm Treo 650 smartphone, TX handheld, and LifeDrive mobile manager only. No other Palm devices are supported. VersaMail 3.5.1 currently ships with the new Treo 700p. An overview of Versamail’s features can be found here. Aside from being capable of ActiveSync with Microsoft Exchange servers, Palm has not announced a list of bugfixes or upgrades from previous versions of VersaMail. The cost for the update is $9.99 and is dated July 6th 2006. Users low on available memory should note that VersaMail installs to RAM instead of being a ROM updater.” Check it here: via palminfocenter.com

“Nokia’s portable multimedia computer and digital photography powerhouse has received the go ahead from the almighty suits in Washington. The FCC has given its super valuable stamp of approval to the Nokia N93 twin-flipping clamshell, with cheers being heard clear across the nation.To recap, the Nokia N93 throws down an incredible 3.2 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, 3x optical zoom, and 30fps video recording capabilities. As a multimedia powerhouse, this superphone is easily capable of playing back music, movies, and video games with the best of them. No word on an exact launch date, per se, but this S60 3rd-edition based handset is expected to retail in the $700 USD neighbourhood.” via mobilemag.com