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Europeans Keep Texting as Americans Try Mobile Gambling
Two new surveys released this week try to figure out what consumers want from mobile phone technology. Research from Forrester shows that Europeans are not interested in advanced mobile features, while a new Mintel report predicts that mobile gambling is set to rise rapidly in the US.
Forrester's study, based on interviews with 18,000 consumers in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK, shows that SMS text messaging is the most used mobile service, and that users are not ready to adopt more advanced features such as the mobile Internet or video messaging. More than 60% of mobile users aged 16 to 24 have an Internet-capable mobile phone, but only 18% actually use it to access the Internet. In fact, 63% of mobile users told Forrester that they didn't need a sophisticated phone as it is only used for voice calls and messages.
The research shows that the favourite mobile services after text messaging are buying ring tones and mobile gaming. The popularity of mobile gaming is echoed in a new Mintel International report, which reports that more and more Americans are turning to their phones for entertainment. It also states that mobile gambling is increasing in the US at a rapid rate, and predicts that this activity will generate $3 billion in revenue in 2009.
Mintel is online at www.mintel.com. Forrester's web site is at www.forrester.com
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