iPhone Most Popular Device for Mobile Web Info, Says M:Metrics

“The iPhone has certainly delivered on its hype,” said Mark Donovan, senior analyst, M:Metrics. “Beyond a doubt, this device is compelling consumers to interact with the mobile Web, delivering off-the-charts usage from everything to text messaging to mobile video.”

“This data indicate that the iPhone’s widgets are an effective means to drive mobile content consumption,” observed Donovan. “Two featured widgets, YouTube and Google Maps, are extremely popular among iPhone users: 30.4 percent accessed YouTube and 36 percent used Google Maps. In comparison, only one percent of all mobile subscribers accessed YouTube and 2.6 percent checked out Google Maps.”

Mobile Content Consumption: iPhone, Smartphone and Total Market:
 January 2008

Activity                                     iPhone   Smartphone*   Market
--------                                     ------   ----------    ------
Any news or info via browser                  84.8%        58.2%     13.1%
Accessed web search                           58.6%        37.0%      6.1%
Watched mobile TV and/or video                30.9%        14.2%      4.6%
Watched on-demand video or TV programming     20.9%         7.0%      1.4%
Accessed Social Networking Site or Blog       49.7%        19.4%      4.2%
Listened to music on mobile phone             74.1%        27.9%      6.7%

Source: M:Metrics, Inc., Copyright © 2008. Survey of U.S. mobile
subscribers. Data based on three-month moving average for period ending
31st January 2008, n = 31,389.
*Smartphones include devices running Windows, Symbian, RIM or Apple
operating systems.

M:Metrics is also the first to report use of the music playing capability of the iPhone, with 74.1 percent of iPhone owners listening to mobile music in January, compared to 6.7 percent of the total mobile audience. Eighty four percent of iPhone owners who use an MP3 player use an iPod.

M:Metrics revealed the demographic composition of iPhone users, which are similar to the demographics of other smartphone owners. They are more likely to be: male, aged 25-34, earn more than $100,000 and have a college degree, than the average mobile subscriber.

“While the demographics of iPhone users are very similar to all smartphone owners, the iPhone is outpacing other smartphones in driving mobile content consumption by a significant margin,” said Donovan. “In addition to the attributes of the device itself, another important factor to consider is the fact that all iPhones on AT&T are attached to an unlimited data plan. Our data shows that once the fear of surprise data charges is eliminated, mobile content consumption increases dramatically, regardless of device.”

M:Metrics applies trusted media measurement methodologies to assess the audience for mobile content and applications. As the world’s most authoritative mobile media measurement firm, M:Metrics delivers the most accurate mobile market metrics through the world’s largest monthly survey of mobile subscribers as well as automated data collection methodologies. Below are the findings of its January Benchmark Survey.

Mobile Subscriber Monthly Consumption of Content and Applications
M:Metrics Benchmark Survey: January 2008

                             US      EU     FR     DE     IT     ES     UK
                           -----   -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Total mobile subscribers    219m  220.5m  45.5m  48.5m  46.5m  33.5m  46.5m
 (13+)
Watched video               4.6%    5.5%   5.3%   2.8%   6.7%   8.1%   5.6%
Listened to music           6.7%   16.9%  14.7%  15.9%  13.9%  21.1%  19.9%
Accessed news/info via     13.1%    9.4%   9.5%   5.5%   7.9%   7.5%  16.5%
 browser
Received SMS ads           19.2%   50.6%  64.7%  31.1%  56.0%  73.1%  35.4%
Played downloaded game      9.0%    8.4%   4.1%   7.5%   9.0%  12.3%  10.4%
Accessed downloaded         4.7%    2.7%   1.4%   2.3%   4.0%   2.4%   3.4%
 application
Sent/received photos or    21.9%   28.4%  25.5%  22.1%  33.2%  31.7%  30.6%
 videos
Purchased ringtones         9.5%    4.1%   4.3%   3.8%   4.9%   3.9%   3.6%
Used email                 12.1%    8.4%   6.3%   6.9%  10.6%   9.1%   9.4%
Accessed social networking  4.2%    2.6%   2.2%   1.1%   2.3%   2.5%   4.7%
 sites

Source: M:Metrics, Inc., Copyright © 2008. Survey of mobile subscribers.
Data based on three-month moving average for period ending 30th January
2007, mobile subscribers in France, n = 12,783 Germany, n = 15,585; Italy,
n = 13,059; Spain, n = 12,720; United Kingdom, n = 15,259; United States,
n = 32,262; the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenyang, Chengdu,
Wuhan and Xi'an for the three-month average ending China n = 5,163

About M:Metrics

M:Metrics is the mobile media authority. As the only research firm to measure the audience for mobile media, M:Metrics provides the most accurate metrics on actual mobile content consumption by applying trusted media measurement methodologies to the mobile market.

M:Metrics’ monthly syndicated data service gives clients the critical insights and intelligence required to inform smart business strategies and the competitive benchmarks needed to evaluate the performance of competitors and partners. M:Metrics is a private, venture-funded corporation headquartered in Seattle, with offices in San Francisco and London.