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Users want faster, friendlier devices

by rebecca diercks
Cahners In-Stat Group

January 7, 2002

Cahners In-Stat Group's most recent research study probed early mobile Internet adopters about the devices they currently use to wirelessly access the Internet. It comes as no surprise to see that wireless phones (78 percent) and notebook computers with air cards (52 percent) are the early leaders. Wireless Internet panelists who were surveyed use personal digital assistants, smartphones and two-way messaging devices less often than these favorites.

Early mobile Internet adopters see ease of use as the primary factor when selecting a device to wirelessly access the Internet. Three out of four respondents view this as the most important factor. Battery life came in second, with 59 percent of respondents citing its importance. Display factors followed next, with 39 percent of panelists mentioning a large display on a device and 37 percent citing a bright, colorful display as important. While handset vendors have made strides in these areas, it remains difficult for them to increase battery life while improving color displays.

Panelists also are on the lookout for products that combine phone and PDA functionality. Many companies have announced products recently that combine phone and PDA functionality, including the Handspring Treo and a new Research In Motion Ltd. device. Sixty percent of panelists say they would prefer to use a combined device, rather than a separate phone and PDA. Adoption of these devices has been slow, however, illustrating the dissatisfaction with products currently available on the market.

Early mobile Internet adopters are avid users: 37 percent wirelessly access the Internet on a daily basis and another 12 percent say they wirelessly access the Internet at least one time per week. Popular applications today include communications services such as e-mail and chat; some 25 percent of respondents say they use this application regularly. Enterprise services such as sales force automation and customer relationship management follow, accessed by 14 percent of respondents. Panelists use mobile commerce, entertainment and information services less often.

The wireless Internet market has gone through some dramatic changes over the past several years. In-Stat research shows the high cost of wireless data services historically has been the primary market inhibitor. This impediment recently has decreased in importance – transmission speed now is viewed as the major barrier, cited by 53 percent of respondents. Slow speed far surpasses other barriers to increased wireless data usage, including geographic coverage (38 percent), keypad/data entry on the device (38 percent), a lack of useful applications (36 percent), screen size of the device (35 percent) and service price (35 percent).

Wireless carriers are working to roll out next-generation services, including CDMA 1XRTT and GPRS, which will provide faster transmission speeds. Although touted as providing vast-ly higher speeds than current systems, typical transmission speeds reported for these tech-nologies are 15 kilobits per second to 30 kbps for GPRS and 50 kbps to 60 kbps for 1XRTT. Still, they more closely approach analog wireline speeds of today, which will make them more palatable to users.

Mobile devices can be conduits to increasing wireless Internet adoption. Manufacturers must continue to work to improve these devices, especially ease of use and displays, to make the experience of using wireless Internet services more pleasant and welcoming. [WIM]