Demand growing for mobile content and services

Stephen Withers
Friday, 22 August 2008 11:48

Your IT - Mobility

Fewer people are buying more mobile content, according to the latest Australian Mobile Phone Lifestyle Index. The study is published by the Australian Interactive Media Industry Association, and sponsored by mobile broadband application provider m.Net and user interface design company Ideal Interfaces.

What, you didn't know your phone had a lifestyle? Neither did I. My phone's life is even more boring than mine - it spends most of the time on my desk, with the occasional outing in a pocket. That's almost as exciting as the box of cereal in my larder that gets a daily outing to the kitchen bench. But I digress.

The research behind the index is more about the public's use of mobile content and services. It's based on information collected from 2000 people around the country.

Even though only 33 percent of respondents said they had purchased mobile content in the last year (down on the 2007 index), the number of games purchased has increased by 50 percent, and paid SMS alerts is up 60 percent.

Despite the ability to play music now being almost a given when choosing a phone, music doesn't figure in the top three categories of content purchased during the previous 12 months. Games were purchased by 43 percent of respondents (sounds on the high side to me, but there you go), closely followed by true tones (42 percent) with wallpapers a distant third on 33 percent.

But that may be set to change, with 30 percent saying they want music, compared with 27 percent picking games and 25 percent opting for wallpapers.

What about information? See page two.