07-29-2008, 09:18 AM
UK mobile phone users are sending an incredible 1.4 billion text messages every week and there is no sign of and end to Britain's love affair with SMS.
According to the latest statistics from the Mobile Data Association (MDA), the first quarter of this year saw a 25% increase in the number of texts sent compared to the last three months of 2007.
Picture and video messaging (MMS) are also proving highly popular in the British Isles with 10 million picture messages being sent each week – 30% more than a year ago.
Whereas other countries are more comfortable with using their mobile phones to email friends and relatives, Britons' addiction to the simple text message continues to surprise experts.
"Text messaging has been without question one of the great success stories of the mobile age both for the industry and consumer," MDA Chairman Steve Reynolds said.
"With announcements this month around reduced cost of sending and receiving text messages abroad, this type of mobile operator action will only act to stimulate further growth.
"In 2008 we are increasingly seeing other applications come into focus for business and consumer use. Mobile email and instant messaging represent new communication mediums but mobile operators need to simplify set-up and access to encourage adoption."
Mobile internet usage is also on the up, partly buoyed by the launch of new web-friendly smartphones like the iPhone 3G and Nokia N95 and partly because of the continued fall in data tariffs to go online from a mobile.
In May this year almost 16.5 million Britons accessed the internet through their mobile – an increase of 25% from the same point two years ago.
The signs are that the move from desktop-based internet to the mobile web will continue, with an average of more than 135,000 new users each month logging on for the first time.
"The findings of this report suggest a real consumer appetite [for mobile internet], but confusion and fear over costs may be holding back growth," Reynolds added.
http://www.metro.co.uk/mobile/article.ht...page_id=63
According to the latest statistics from the Mobile Data Association (MDA), the first quarter of this year saw a 25% increase in the number of texts sent compared to the last three months of 2007.
Picture and video messaging (MMS) are also proving highly popular in the British Isles with 10 million picture messages being sent each week – 30% more than a year ago.
Whereas other countries are more comfortable with using their mobile phones to email friends and relatives, Britons' addiction to the simple text message continues to surprise experts.
"Text messaging has been without question one of the great success stories of the mobile age both for the industry and consumer," MDA Chairman Steve Reynolds said.
"With announcements this month around reduced cost of sending and receiving text messages abroad, this type of mobile operator action will only act to stimulate further growth.
"In 2008 we are increasingly seeing other applications come into focus for business and consumer use. Mobile email and instant messaging represent new communication mediums but mobile operators need to simplify set-up and access to encourage adoption."
Mobile internet usage is also on the up, partly buoyed by the launch of new web-friendly smartphones like the iPhone 3G and Nokia N95 and partly because of the continued fall in data tariffs to go online from a mobile.
In May this year almost 16.5 million Britons accessed the internet through their mobile – an increase of 25% from the same point two years ago.
The signs are that the move from desktop-based internet to the mobile web will continue, with an average of more than 135,000 new users each month logging on for the first time.
"The findings of this report suggest a real consumer appetite [for mobile internet], but confusion and fear over costs may be holding back growth," Reynolds added.
http://www.metro.co.uk/mobile/article.ht...page_id=63
