Research firm comScore Networks Inc has proof that Internet users are increasingly turning to devices like Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) or mobile phones. Their recent study of North America Internet users place 10.8 million Americans who surf from their PDAs or mobile phones: 19.1 million indicated owning a PDA with half (5 million) regularly accessing the Internet with those devices, and 67.2 million indicated they own a mobile phone with 5.8 million citing accessing the Internet with those devices.

"Although wireless Internet usage is still in its relative infancy, these data prove there already is a significant wireless Web audience," said comScore Media Metrix division president Peter Daboll. "While there are more Internet users with mobile phones, a much higher proportion of PDA owners report using those devices to go online. These usage rates warrant careful monitoring, both by manufacturers as they develop new devices and by publishers and marketers as they evaluate wireless strategies."

Other key findings from comScore's research include:

1. Sex matters: Male respondents who access the Internet using their mobile or PDA comprise 72 per cent (6.5 million) while female comprise 28 per cent (3.4 million). This compares to comScore's estimate of total Internet population in North America at 48 per cent (45.3 million) male and 52 per cent (48.3 million) female.

2. Wireless Internet access is a working class tool: 53 per cent (5.3 million) of online users in the 18-34 demographic band access the Internet via mobile phone or PDA, 42 per cent (4.2 million) age between 35-54 and four per cent (400,000) age 55 and older. This compares to the total Internet population, where 40 per cent (37.6 million) age between 18-34; 46 per cent (42.8 million) between 35-54; and 14 per cent (13.2 million) age 55 and older.

3. Higher income earners prefer wireless: Internet users who go online via a mobile phone or PDA with annual household income of more than US$60,000 represent 59 per cent (5.8 million) and those with an annual household income of less than US$60,000 comprise 41 per cent
(4.1 million). This is highly significant in comparison with the total Internet population, where 51 per cent (47.7 million) have a household income less than US$60,000 and 49 per cent (45.9 million) have a household income greater than US$60,000.

4. Consumer driven: Among the surveyed 29 categories and 71 subcategories of online media, car-rental sites (17 per cent), directories-classified sites (16 per cent), retail-movie sites (16 per cent) and retail-tickets (16 per cent) attract the highest concentration of Internet users that access the Internet with a mobile phone or PDA.

5. Web-based email: Research indicate 11 per cent of Web-based email users access the Internet via a mobile phone or PDA, with users of Netscape Webmail in the highest number (16 per cent), followed by AOL.com Email (15 per cent), MSN Hotmail (13 per cent) and Yahoo! Mail (11 per cent).

6. MSN Messenger tops mobile IM: Only 11 per cent indicated using Instant Messaging applications via a mobile phone or PDA, on MSN Messenger (14 per cent), Yahoo! Messenger (13 per cent), AOL's ICQ (13 per cent) and AOL's AIM (10 per cent).

7. Premium news: Only 12 per cent of Internet users who access the Internet via a mobile phone or PDA browse news sites, prefering Wall Street Journal Interactive (17 per cent); Boston.com (16 per cent), CNN.com (15 per cent) and NYTimes.com (14 per cent).

"This first release of wireless usage data among active Internet users reveals distinct demographic characteristics and online behaviors that make this audience especially desirable to digital marketers," said Daboll.

In a related research to support comScore's findings, the Computer Industry Almanac Inc.'s analysis of Internet usage across more than 50 countries indicates from a population of 1.12 billion estimated Internet users by end of 2005, a significant number will go online by using wireless devices such as Web-enabled mobile phones and PDAs. In developed countries, the Almanac expects wireless devices to supplement PC-based Internet access for most users and expect wireless devices to be the primary Internet access device in countries with low Internet penetration.

"The wireless Internet will take off when always-on service and useful content for the small displays of wireless devices are available," said Computer Industry Almanac's Dr. Egil Juliussen. "The rapid take off will be due to millions of 'dormant' or Web-enabled mobile phones that are only used for voice services. As the wireless Internet user experience improves, an increasing portion of the dormant web phones will become active wireless Internet devices." In addition, Computer Industry Almanac estimates an explosive growth in the usage of PDA phones within the next five years. The combination of a Web mobile phone with PDA functionality will see demand for the device grow from 230,000 units in 2000 to more than 19 million units in 2007 (with a compound annual growth rate of 87.5 per cent worldwide, with the U.S. market accounting for 5.5 million units by 2007). In line with this growth, PDA capabilities is also expected to improve impressively by 2007 and evolving to become a multifunction device with built-in Internet access, digital camera, music player, scanner and other functionality. The hardware capabilities of the typical 2007 PDA will be similar to the 2001 low-end PC.

"Phone-PDA growth will follow the growth of 2.5G and 3G cellular networks because they need always-on packet networks to be useful", says Juliussen. "Phone-PDAs have shown early success in Europe and the market is likely to grow strongly in 2002 and 2003 in the USA and parts of Asia".

If your organisation seeks a similar enterprise mobility solution, please contact us at 1-800 82 1919 - we, together with our partners, will work with you to develop a solution best suited to your business needs.

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