US mobile market analysed

Edited by the Electronicstalk editorial team Oct 24, 2005

Convergence is finding traction in mobile phones, with one-quarter of all US Internet households willing to use a high-resolution camera phone as their primary camera, according a new report.

Convergence is finding traction in mobile phones, with one-quarter of all US Internet households willing to use a high-resolution camera phone as their primary camera, according to the forthcoming report "Mobile market intelligence (Second Edition)" from Parks Associates.

The report also found consumer interest in mobile music applications, although photo applications are more popular among US Internet households, with 52% (10.2 million homes) intending to buy a mobile phone with an integrated camera and only 30% (5.9 million homes) planning to purchase a mobile phone capable of downloading music.

"Although the industry is currently focused on iPods and Motorola's new music phone ROKR, consumers would rather have a camera phone", said Vibha Pant, an analyst with Parks Associates.

"Moreover, the impending introduction of advanced megapixel camera phones will strengthen demand, which will create great opportunities for service providers to increase their ARPU by offering photo sharing, photo printing, and other applications".

The prospects for music phones should not be discounted, though, with approximately 14 million US homes expressing an interest in such a device, making it a more popular item than a smart phone.

The report defines a smart phone as either a PDA with phone capabilities or a phone that can perform computer-like functions such as e-mailing, word processing, and Internet browsing.

"Mobile market intelligence (Second Edition)" provides an in-depth analysis of the US mobile market, focusing in detail on both the demand and supply sides of the economic equation.

It provides insights on mobile phone users, their current applications, and future purchase plans.

It also profiles the major players on the supply side - both service providers and handset vendors.

The report uses data from "Mobile entertainment platforms and services", a survey of more than 2000 US Internet users.