UK Users Trying Mobile Internet, Few Return
Harris Interactive has released the results of a poll showing a strong difference between the number of people who have used mobile internet compared to the number of people who do use mobile internet, which is an important distinction. The poll (of 2,144 adults in the UK) showed that 29 percent of respondents had used the mobile internet, but only 10 percent used it more than once a week. The 16-24 age bracket were the most common users, with 53 percent having tried it and 19 percent using it at least once a week. Likewise, males were more likely than females to search the mobile internet, with 36 percent of males trying it (13 percent at least once a week) and 22 percent of females trying it (5 percent at least once a week).
The results speak for themselves, but analyst Tom Perrott suggests it is content that will keep people coming back — that and an absence of bill shock. (release)
Interesting, almost obvious figures coming from this study. However, in my experience using a fast-growing "underground" social network in the US – mocospace.com – sports-related content is pretty miniscule. It seems the MySpace culture of the US is attracting the same kinds of users, only from a lower income bracket. Will it change as more people discover mobile social computing? Surely. The really interesting part will be how and when the carriers handle the difficult task of allowing/disallowing types of content….