Mobile Video Frustrating and Too Expensive, Says Bamboo MediaCasting

By Editor Wireless and Mobile News on March 28, 2008 1:05 PM

A new survey of US consumers from Bamboo MediaCasting, Inc. indicates that the mobile media industry still needs to resolve a few nagging problems matters like image quality, bandwidth limitations and the overall consumer experience.

In association with Chicago market researcher Synovate, Bamboo MediaCasting1,000 online consumers, What do you think is apt to be the most frustrating part about viewing video on a cell phone?

According to the Bamboo/Synovate eNation study, conducted in early March, 51 percent of total respondents expect that mobile video subscriptions will be too expensive. Among those who did not cite cost, 45.5 percent anticipate that image quality will be poor; 27 percent expect speed will be an issue that is, they expect that content will be slow to load; 17 percent say the process will be too complex too many steps will be involved to make things work; and 10 percent anticipate that content choices will be limited.

"Mobile media technology has clearly come a long way in a very short time, but as these findings suggest, we as an industry need to ensure that consumers have a quality experience every step of the way," said Guy Morag, CEO of Bamboo MediaCasting. "The mobile platform is unique - it's not TV and it's not the PC. Carriers and service providers stand to benefit, the closer we all come to providing solutions that don't involve unacceptable compromises."

Driven by anticipated 3G network adoption and broad consumer interest, the number of mobile content subscribers is expected to grow to 462 million worldwide over the next five years, according to ABI Research. IDC, meanwhile, has estimated the U.S. audience for mobile video at 25 million+ by 2011, while Juniper Research projects mobile entertainment revenues to jump from $20 billion to $65 billion over the same period.

Survey Findings at a Glance

The data below applies to that portion of the sample that did not cite cost as the main source of frustration:

Who's Image Conscious? Women are more likely than men to have concerns with image quality (48 percent to 43 percent), and slightly more inclined to have issues with speed (29 percent to 25 percent). Men are markedly more concerned than women about limited content choices (13 percent to 7 percent).
Youth in a Hurry. Perhaps conditioned by encounters with grainy screens in various guises, the youngest demographic - those ages 18-14 - were substantially less concerned about image quality (21 percent) than all other age groups. That same demographic has far less patience for slow image loading; 45 percent cited speed as the biggest frustration with mobile video.
Patience Comes with Age... Nearly 50 percent of those over 35 ranked image quality their top concern - in most cases by a 12 to 15 point margin. Indeed, the older you are, the less frustrated you're likely to be with slow image loading: while 36 percent of those 35-44 cited speed as their top concern, that frustration diminishes significantly for those 45-54 (23 percent), those 55-64 (19 percent) and those over 65 (10 percent).
... But Not Necessarily with Parenthood. Among households without children, nearly half ranked image quality as the top frustration (49.5 percent), against 39 percent with kids. That situation is reversed when the subject shifts to speed; there, sluggish loading was a top concern among 34 percent of households with children, but just 23 percent of those without.
Regionally, Reception Varies. Image quality is a relatively bigger deal in the Northeast (53 percent), and relatively less of a frustration in the South (41 percent). Those in the Northeast are, however, less concerned about loading speeds (22 percent) than consumers elsewhere in the country.
Deciphering the Device. Having a kid in the house also appears to help tame technology; just 12 percent of households with children expressed frustration with the complexity of mobile video, against 21 percent of those without kids. For those with a high school education or less, the steps involved in viewing mobile video loom as a greater source of frustration than they do for those with college or post-graduate training (26 percent to 15 percent).
Type A's Want Clarity. Those employed full-time - arguably, the busiest among the various employment group breakdowns - are relatively more frustrated by bad image quality (49 percent) and sluggish image loading (30 percent) than those who work part-time, are self-employed, unemployed or retired.