GLOBAL MOBILE USER SURVEY FROM BUZZCITY

Mobile internet on the rise, but mobile not threatening the PC...yet!

London, 14th February 2011: Despite mobile device functionality becoming ever more sophisticated, research, revealed today by mobile media company BuzzCity, shows that mobiles are actually sustaining, not replacing, consumer demand for PCs.

The global research, which surveyed 5,000 people, found that computing tools remain important, and even aspirational, for mobile internet users. 51% of mobile internet users do not have daily access to fixed line internet and 23% do not use the fixed internet at all. Of those surveyed, 21% plan to buy a computer accessory in the next twelve months and 36% have already tried out tablets. So although ultimately mobiles may overtake PCs for internet browsing, there are no signs that the PC will fade away completely.

Mobile gaming is a whole different ball game, however, and the indications are that the rise of mobile gaming is detrimentally affecting demand for games consoles – compared to 2008, demand for games consoles has fallen, to 7.94%.

Dr KF Lai, CEO of BuzzCity, said: “Mobile browsing has been viewed as a threat to PCs, but our research shows that this is drastically oversimplifying things. Many people use the internet on a range of devices, both mobile and otherwise.”

“Surfing patterns that have emerged so far gives our customers insights into what products consumers are looking for and particularly those opportunities that lie in un-met demand”, added Lai.

Some key findings of the report include:
• Mature Users: Predominantly male (72%), aged between 18 – 45 yrs (86%), digitally savvy and highly sociable.
• Mobile transactions: Developing from the mobile-centric (such as ringtones and games) to the tangible (airline seats, hotel rooms). There is real trust from consumers to use their phones for financial services such as bill payments, money transfers – with 46% of those surveyed saying they would use their phones for this.
• Financial Services: Perhaps the largest opportunity lies with the financial services industry, which can reach users and capitalise on the milestones that present financing, insurance and planning opportunities.
• Handsets: Although Nokia still dominates for mobile browsing with 42% of internet traffic, Samsung has grown with stealth in the last year and outpaced Sony Ericsson. Expect to see more activity from Samsung users soon, particularly as mobile surfing and gaming grows in countries like Brazil, Turkey, Vietnam, Kenya and Argentina.
Brand Internet traffic
Nokia 42.2%
Samsung 10.3%
Sony Ericsson 9.4%
Apple 7.2%
Blackberry 4.0%

-Ends-
To view the report in full, please visit:
http://www.buzzcity.com/l/The-BuzzCity-Report.pdf

For more information please contact:

Rachel Brewin, Sian Gaskell or Siobhan Eyres at CubanEight
Tel: 01869 238089
Email:
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

About BuzzCity
BuzzCity is a mobile media company offering brand owners and agencies access to a global advertising network on the mobile internet. The network is made up of publishers from across the world and BuzzCity’s own mobile media properties. As a leading international player, BuzzCity has developed in-depth knowledge of the mobile consumer and provides marketers with clear opportunities to reach this audience via its advertising and publisher programmes.
Additional information can be found at www.buzzcity.com.

About the research
The survey was conducted from October 2010 to January 2011 in 13 countries, representing a
variety of geographic regions: the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania.
The survey was kept short to cater to the mobile internet. Participants were asked 11 questions: 10
multiple choice questions plus one open-ended response.