Consumers Ready for Multimedia Mobile Phones

New research from The Diffusion Group finds that consumers are ready to buy mobile phones that also support audio or video service.

Dallas, TX January 19, 2005 -- A new report from consumer technology think-tank, The Diffusion Group, finds that consumers are increasingly comfortable with the idea of listening to music of viewing video on their mobile phones. This should come as welcome news to the hundreds of IC, software, and hardware vendors looking to exploit this space.

"Consumer Comfort with Using a Media Phone," the latest report from TDG Research, finds that among Internet households who also use a cell phone, 42% would be comfortable listening to music and 30% would be comfortable watching TV or movies on their cell phone.

More than 70% of US households in general, and 93% of Internet households in particular, now own at least one cell phone, says Dale Gilliam III, analyst with The Diffusion Group. Among Internet households, enjoying digital mobile multimedia is becoming increasingly attractive. Consumers are looking for convenient ways to access their digital media and the mobile phone offers an intuitive, familiar, and comfortable form factor through which to enjoy this content.

The following are some of the key findings from the study:
    Among Internet households who own a cell phone, more than 25% are interested in having a digital music player on their cell phone.
    Among those Internet households likely to cancel their landline phone service and go mobile only, 53% are comfortable listening to music on their cell phone, while 38% are comfortable watching TV or movies.
    Among the various age groups, younger heads-of-household are most comfortable with the idea of consuming multimedia content on their mobile phone. Almost 60% of 18 to 24 year-old Internet heads-of-household are comfortable listening to music on their cell phone, while 46% watching TV or movies.
TDGs new report, "Consumer Comfort with Using a Media Phones," offers a statistical glimpse into the future market for mobile multimedia-enabled cell phones. The report is available on TDG Researchs website at www.tdgresearch.com.

About The Diffusion Group
The Diffusion Group is a think tank of consumer technology analysts charged with providing timely, actionable intelligence designed to best position new consumer technologies for rapid diffusion. TDG is committed to providing market research and strategic consulting services based on conservative, real-world analysis and market forecasts grounded in consumer research. For more information about The Diffusion Group, visit our website at www.tdgresearch.com or email e-mail protected from spam bots.

Press Contact:
Andy Tarczon
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