Despite the impressive success of high-end mobile phones and smartphones a recent study suggests that mobile internet continues to be used sparingly by UK mobile consumers. The UK-wide research into mobile habits was taken by Essential Research, who found that 76% of mobile phone and smartphone users still don’t access the internet via their handsets.
These latest findings come just days after the release of Google’s much-vaunted smartphone, Nexus One and will surprise manufacturers after the market share of smartphones increased over 2009. Essential Research revealed that 60% of the consumers surveyed did not own a handset with direct internet access, with only a third of those users interested in upgrading to a smartphone.
Alex Charlton, partner at Essential Research said: “This type of research doesn’t often see the light of day, and what we’ve found is pretty surprising news: there is an enormous gulf between the perceptions we hold about mobiles being a big part of our internet lives and the reality.”
Manufacturers and designers may be forced to go back to the drawing board after 57% of consumers surveyed found the mobile internet technology too complicated after attempting to log online. Social media is the biggest driver of mobile internet according to Essential Research, with 70% using sites such as Facebook and Twitter from their mobiles and smartphones.
Those users who were interested in using mobile internet in the future wished to perform everyday activities such as real-time travel updates and in-store tracking for coupons, vouchers etc that can make a legitimate difference in people’s lives. It would appear that there is a long way to go before smartphones become the #1 choice of interactive mobile handset.
