Nearly 45% of U.S. Mobile Users Looking for Better Internet Access in Next Mobile Phone Purchase

Princeton, NJ — 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.