Despite the vast of number of features packed into today's mobile phones,
over half of users (60 per cent) still use them purely for calling and sending
SMS messages, according to a new study by mobile interaction management
developers
SNAPin
Software.
Amongst a third of respondents who do take advantage of their mobile phone's
other features, the camera came out as the top choice - with 30 per cent of
users saying they use the camera to take and send pictures to friends and
family.
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Despite the big push of mobile data services and the increasing number of
flat-rate data packages from service providers, just 12 per cent of mobile users
e-mail from their mobile phone or access the internet.
Similarly, despite the increasing number of phones with mapping and GPS
functionality, street navigation systems proved to be least popular service,
with just three per cent of respondents using them.
"Today's mobile phones are packed with functionality, yet many mobile users
only discover a mere fraction of the features and applications available," said
Robert Lewis, president and chief executive officer of SNAPin Software.
SNAPin attributes the lack of adoption to three major barriers, which it
describes as services apathy, billing confusion and manual fatigue.
The research revealed that the majority of users simply aren't interested in
using the mobile services available on their phone.
While a third of respondents (29 per cent) said they were confused about
mobile operators' billing rates and how they are being charged for additional
offerings, and a further18 per cent admitted they couldn't be bothered to go
through a user manual in order to learn how to use certain applications.
"We believe this situation is symptomatic of how mobile handset manufacturers
and operators approach user education. Users need simpler and less time intensi
ve ways of discovering their mobile phones' potential," explained Lewis.
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