According to "Mobile Market View," a new mobile consumer
study conducted by The Kelsey Group with research partner ConStat,
44.7 percent of U.S. mobile phone users surveyed say a mobile phone
with better Internet capability will be a key factor in their next
mobile phone purchase decision. According to the survey, only 26
percent of mobile phone service subscribers currently opt for an
Internet access plan.
"The combination of unlimited data plans and
next-generation Internet-enabled mobile devices, like Apple's
iPhone, suggests mobile Web access will grow to become ubiquitous,"
said Matt Booth, senior vice president and program director, Interactive
Local Media, The Kelsey Group. "Growing mobile Internet usage
and increased satisfaction with mobile Internet applications are
among the converging factors that we believe point to a breakthrough
year ahead for mobile ad adoption."
The Kelsey Group announced last month that it expects
U.S. mobile search advertising revenues to grow from US$33.2 million
in 2007 to US$1.4 billion in 2012, representing a compound annual
growth rate of 112 percent.
Among the 500 mobile users surveyed in the Mobile
Market View study, maps and local commercial search are preferred
Internet applications. In the past six months, 9.8 percent of respondents
used their mobile phones to conduct Internet searches for products
and services in their local area. During the same period, 10.7 percent
downloaded or looked at maps, while 10.9 percent indicated they
had downloaded search or mapping applications (for use on the Internet)
to supplement those that came with their mobile phones.
Local mobile advertising and mapping will be among
the topics examined at The Kelsey Group's upcoming Interactive
Local Media 2007 (ILM:07) conference, which takes place Nov. 28-30,
2007, in Los Angeles and features sessions developed by Search Engine
Strategies (SES). One session, titled "The Future of Local
Mobile," will look at the local mobile advertising and services
opportunity--what's real, what's not and how fast
it will materialize. Another session, created and led by SES, titled
"Maps: They're Not Just for Driving Anymore,"
will examine the geographic interface as it relates to search marketing.
About Mobile Market View
Mobile Market View is a tracking study of mobile user behavior conducted
by The Kelsey Group and research partner ConStat. This first wave
of the study was conducted in September 2007 via an online 30-question
survey of 500 U.S. mobile phone users aged 18 and over.