Articles

4.2.2011 New mobile trends emerge in UK

Consumers in the UK are adopting an increasingly diverse range of mobile habits, from browsing the web while on the move to using their phone when watching TV. Industry body the IAB and research firm Connect Insight asked 500 peoplewho regularly utilise applications and the internet, or download content, via handsets to keep a "media diary" for a week. These data were supplemented by six digital focus groups to gain a rounded picture regarding the daily role of wireless devices. On average, individuals engaged with their mobile 18 times each day, going online most frequently among the pastimes assessed. Indeed, 66% of contributors "couldn't live without" such gadgets and 58% believed they helped ensure life was more organised.

Simultaneous media use is another widespread habit, given that 70% of the sample deployed a mobile at the same time as being exposed to a different medium. This is most commonly the case for TV, as 53% of those polled leveraged mobile media while viewing television broadcasts between 9pm and midnight. From 6am to 9am, the mobile information of greatest interest concerned finance, weather and travel, a position held by entertainment, shopping and maps in the 3pm to 6pm slot. Entertainment, music, sport and games then took over, as people sought to relax after work.

B.L. 4.2.2011