63 per cent of Tablet users in the UK agreed that it is easier to access media content on a Tablet than on a mobile or laptop/desktop PC. When asked about activities carried out on mobile devices, Tablet users carry out an average of 3.9 activities, given a list of six broad options in the last 30 days. This was higher than both laptop (3.6) and smartphone (2.7) users.

When considering browsing and purchasing patterns, Tablet users bought more frequently than on any other device. Additionally, over 20 per cent of Tablet users claim that they shop less in bricks and mortar stores, since purchasing their device. 69 per cent of Tablet users had shopped via their device in the last 30 days, with almost one in 10 of these consumers happy to use their Tablet for a big ticket purchase, in contrast with smartphone users who typically use their device for functional purchases. Only 2.9 per cent of smartphone users had bought a big ticket item via their phone.

The research also revealed that 72 per cent of respondents watch TV while using their Tablet, and a fifth of consumers stated that they watched more TV following a Tablet purchase. Almost a third of current non-Tablet owners said they were likely to purchase one in the next six months. Other findings: 51 per cent of Tablet owners use the device to fill what would previously have been dead time. 49 per cent of respondents share their Tablet with family members. 44 per cent said they would not want to be separated from their Tablet. And 42 per cent said that their Tablet device has revolutionised the way they communicate with friends and colleagues.

“Media consumption habits are evolving, with digital consumers supplementing or even replacing time spent with traditional forms of media, such as print readership and much purchasing now happens in the home via a mobile device,” notes John Stoneman, sales director for Europe and the Middle East at InMobi. “The research shows there is a strong correlation between the use of Tablet devices and TV viewing, with the UK showing the highest levels of ‘dual-screening’ across the globe. Considering the path to purchase point, Tablets are being used to research and browse products, which is then followed by a decision to buy the product. Notably we discovered that when consumers shop on Tablets, they spend more than on any other device.”

Source: http://mobilemarketingmagazine.com/content/tablet-owners-do-it-more-often

And app providers have been more than happy to oblige the surge of users – the number of apps in Apple’s App Store for iPad grew 180 per cent, to more than 140,000 apps by the end of Q4, 2011.

“Based on projections for tablet shipments in Q2, 2012, the installed base of tablet users is set to increase more than 150 per cent by 2013,” said research2guidance research director Grace Gair in a blog post.” As tablet users become a larger and larger app downloading segment, their app behavior and preferences will have an increasing influence on the app market – illustrated already in the growth in the number of apps and stores devoted to them.”

Source: http://mobilemarketingmagazine.com/content/tablets-shaping-future-app-market-says-research2guidance

67 per cent of smartphone users have used location-based services, the study found. 61 per cent have streamed video from sites such as YouTube, 47 per cent use mobile banking apps, and 23 per cent have tried out Augmented Reality.

And it’s not just the young – ownership among the 41-50 age group in the UK is 45 per cent, only 5 per cent below the national average.

“Not only do mobile users have more features on their phones and make more use of them, but brands launching relevant apps will find millions of users ready to interact with them,” says TNS UK head of digital, Joe Webb.

“Our data suggests that mobile ads are no more intrusive than any other form of advertising” and “there is currently a honeymoon period with an engaged and savvy audience interacting with the novelty of mobile search ads.”

Source: http://mobilemarketingmagazine.com/content/britain-great-mobile-says-tns

Android posted a market share of 51 per cent, up 3.7 percentage points from the previous quarter, ending December. iOS remains in second place, at 30.7 per cent, up 1.1 per cent. The Big Two are increasingly elbowing out other OSs – BlackBerry fell 3.7 percentage points, down to 12.3 per cent, and Microsoft’s Windows Phone dropped 0.8 percentage points to 3.9 per cent. Only Symbian remained level, at 1.4 per cent.

The size of the market being played for also grew, as the number of smartphone owners in the US increased 9 per cent, to a total 106m.

Samsung continued to solidify its position as the top handset manufacturer, growin 0.7 per cent from December to a market share of 26 per cent. LG ranks second on 19.3 per cent – down 0.7 percentage points on the previous quarter – and Apple is rapidly catching up, overtaking Motorola (12.8 per cent) to take third place. With an increase of 1.6 percentage points, Apple holds a 14 per cent market share. RIM was finally pushed out of the top five, with HTC taking its place. HTC also saw its market share drop, by 0.2 percentage points to 6 per cent – but once again, with the dominance of the major players, it’s currently a question of who can manage to fall slowest…

Source: http://mobilemarketingmagazine.com/content/over-half-us-smartphones-are-android

Once members of this age group saw an ad within an app, half of them decided to click on it, versus 45% of typical app users. Twenty-eight percent of people 25-34 and 29% of those 18-24 have followed an ad to download another app, compared to 24% of total app users. Over one-third of adults 18-34 have downloaded an app to earn rewards, compared to 29% of typical users.

Although the most sought-after rewards for general app users are cash and gift cards, adults 25-34 are much more likely than the total to express interest in earning premium content, game credits and new apps.

The study breaks app using into several groups. One group, about 21% of the respondents, are “premium essentials” who are willing to pay for apps; they have a lot of apps and prune their number to eliminate the ones they don’t like or use any more. The study said they find apps from word of mouth, and browsing the app store, but not by advertising and promotions. They are most likely to try a free version — and if they like it, upgrade to the paid one. They also over-index for mobile games, are willing to pay for premium games and pay up front.

Another group, “researcher purchasers” — about 29% of the respondent group — uses social networks and recommendations to find apps, per the study. They also are more likely to respond to TV ads and promotions to learn about new games, movies, and automobiles as much as from suggestions. They have the most paid apps.

A third group of app users are “gratis only,” and comprise 26% of the respondent pool. The study says once they have downloaded a free app they tend to stick with it instead of paying for a better version. They don’t like ad-supported apps, however, although few are willing to get rid of ads by paying.

Finally, “freemium users,” 24% of the population of app users, download a lot of apps but are very price-sensitive. The study says 88% download only the free versions of apps. More than three-quarters of them, per the study, make price the principal driver which app to get.

App users in the 25-to-34 age range said they saw on average seven ads per app use. The “premium essential” group and the “freemium users” were more likely than any other group to report seeing ads in apps. But of those who reported seeing an ad the “researcher purchaser” group was morally likely to click than anyone else. A quarter of premium essentials and freemium users were willing to download an app to get a reward, a higher number than any of the other groups.

Source: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/173441/study-finds-gen-y-responds-to-app-ads.html

Nokia took the top spot in 1998 from Motorola, but in the first quarter of 2012 Samsung shipped 93m phones compared to almost 83m by Nokia. Samsung also reported its highest quarterly profit since 2008.

Net profit was 5.05tn won ($4.5bn; £2.8bn) in the quarter ending 31 March, up 81% from 2.78tn won last year.

Samsung is also the world’s biggest TV and flat screen maker.

“We cautiously expect our earnings momentum to continue going forward, as competitiveness in our major businesses is enhanced,” said Robert Yi, head of investor relations at Samsung.

Bright future

The firm said its IT and mobile communications division, which manufactures the smartphones, made an operating profit of 4.27tn won during the period, as revenues in the division surged 86% from a year earlier.

Samsung will unveil the latest version of its Galaxy range of phones on 3 May. The Galaxy range has been very popular and helped Samsung overtake Apple to become the world’s biggest seller of smartphones.

“The smartphone market has almost only two players, Samsung and Apple,” said Lee Sei-Cheol of Meritz Securities. ”Since its Galaxy3 phone is being unveiled in May, Samsung will keep enjoying sales growth in its mobile phone division.”

Global demand for smartphones is expected to increase further in coming years, with research firm IDC forecasting that global smart phone shipments will rise by a third to 659.8 million units in 2012.

Analysts said that given its robust growth and dominance in the sector, Samsung was well placed to benefit from this growth and boost its market share. However, given growth in the sector, other smartphone makers are also keen to introduce new products and tap into the fast-growing market.

Samsung is facing stiff competition from rivals such as US-based Apple, Finland’s Nokia, and Taiwan’s HTC.

Apple, which said earlier this week that it sold 35 million of its iPhones in the first quarter, is expected to launch a new version of its handset later this year.

Analysts said that as more models are launched, manufacturers may have to the cut price of their handsets in a bid to attract consumers, a move that may see profit margins shrink.

“Samsung’s handset earnings may weaken in the latter half of this year, with the possible launch of Apple’s iPhone 5,” said Brian Park of Tong Yang Securities.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17865117

The 2012 Q1 Shopping Insights Mobile Study is based on more than 1.1bn  shopping sessions on UK and US retail sites. Among its other findings were that the average purchase on mobile in March was £109.68, compared to £100.05 on desktop computers. Conversation rates remain highest on desktop computers, however, at 3.6 per cent, versus 2.9 per cent on iPad, 1.2 per cent on iPhone and 1 per cent on other mobile devices.

Once again, iOS has emerged as the dominating force in mCommerce. iPads rule in terms of revenue, accounting for 82 per cent of all mobile spend. iPhones, meanwhile, saw the highest average order values, at an average £135.63.

“Whether they are shopping from their desk at work, browsing on their mobile phone while in the queue at lunch or making a purchase at home in the evening from their iPad, customers expect a consistent experience that is optimised for any device they choose,” said Darren Hitchcock, vice president of UK and European territories, RichRelevance. “This data demonstrates that retailers have an opportunity not only to provide that seamless experience to customers, but think about how customers are shopping at different times of the day and week and to personalise their merchandising strategy around that behaviour.”

The report also compared the behaviour of shoppers in the UK and US, and found that here in dear old Blighty, we’re nearly twice as likely to spend on mobile as our transatlantic cousins. In the US, mobile accounted for only 4.6 per cent of revenue.

Source: http://mobilemarketingmagazine.com/content/mobile-9-cent-ecommerce

According to the BIA/Kelsey report, mobile search will generate 27.8 billion more queries than desktop search by 2016. Mobile search is quickly gaining traction because it affects consumers who are deeper in the purchase funnel.

“Marketers cannot afford to ignore mobile anymore,” said Michael Boland, senior analyst and program director for mobile local media at BIA/Kelsey, Chantilly, VA.

“In addition to growing in number, mobile local searches are qualitatively different than desktop local searches,” he said.

“Our data shows them in many cases to carry greater commercial intent, as measured by performance indicators like click-through rates.”

BIA/Kelsey uses consulting and valuation services to advise local media companies with research and conferences.

Local intent

Consumers who are using mobile search are most likely looking for instant information and may be more likely to make quick decisions, which has large implications for brands and marketers.

In 2011, desktop local search totaled 54.9 billion queries. To compare, mobile local search raked in 19.7 billion queries.

However, by 2013 mobile local searches are expected to bring in 46 million queries, pointing to the quick growth in mobile ownership. Desktop searches made with a local intent are expected to 69.2 million hits.

The gap between mobile and desktop local searches will close in 2015 when mobile search queries will total 85.9 billion with desktop accounting for 84 billion.

Mobile money

The BIA/Kelsey study also looked at the expected revenues from both mobile and desktop local search.

Between 2011 and 2016, mobile is expected to have a whopping 160.4 percent compound annual growth rate in local search revenue. Desktop local search revenue will have a 12.1 percent compound annual growth rate.

Although mobile local revenue will increase at a rapid rate, it still falls short compared to desktop local search revenue.

For example, in 2011 revenue from mobile local search generated $.4 billion. By the end of 2012, it is expected to reach $.7 billion and $1.1 billion in 2013. On the other hand, desktop local search accounted for $5.7 billion in 2011, is expected to make up $6.7 billion in 2012 and will generate $7.8 billion in 2013.

By 2016, mobile local search is expected to make $3.2 billion in revenue compared to desktop’s $10.2 billion.

For marketers, the study is proof that mobile will play a crucial part of local search and is an essential marketing piece to any search marketing strategy.

With mobile devices becoming more sophisticated, location-based marketing is starting to play an increased role in how consumers access information while on the go.

“Since local search is more of a direct-response medium, brands that are interested in driving locally relevant actions that capture the intent-driven nature of search have the most to gain here,” Mr. Boland said.

“That is, if they act accordingly and shift budget in ways that correlate to these trends,” he said.

Source: http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/research/12628.html

• Most U.S. tablet owners have paid for downloaded music (62%) and books (58%) for usage on their device. Approximately half have paid for movies (51%).

• News is the top content category among the European tablet owners surveyed: 44 percent of tablet owners in Italy, 19 percent of tablet owners in the UK, and 15 percent of tablet owners in Germany say they have paid for tablet news content.

• Among the European countries, Italians are the most willing to pay for media content on their tablet.

Source: http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/global/american-and-european-tablet-owners-more-comfortable-paying-for-content/

It also revealed the average size of a domestic remittance transaction via mobile was $22 in 2011

Juniper’s ‘Mobile Money Transfer & Remittances’ report stressed the strategic importance of mobile money for operators, citing their ability to increase ARPU and act as a customer retention tool.

For financial service providers, they offer the potential to upsell sophisticated products such as insurance and savings accounts.

However, there was a reminder of the power that regulatory regimes have to stall service deployments, and act as a brake on service adoption.