FusionOne Poll Reveals the Stress of Losing a Mobile Phone; Subscribers Say Losing Their Phone Would Be Worse Than a Parking Ticket or Trip to the Dentist

Business Wire, July 13, 2004

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Almost half (43%) of mobile phone owners have lost, damaged or had their phone stolen at some point. Three-fourths (72%) of them never got their phone back and 49% were able to replace less than half of the stored contact numbers.

A survey by FusionOne, a leading provider of personal content management applications for mobile phone users, has highlighted the stressful effects of losing a cell phone with all its saved contact information. More than a fifth (21%) of respondents said that the worst part of misplacing a mobile phone is knowing that some contact numbers, such as those of prospective dates or new business acquaintances, will never be recovered. When asked how losing a phone, with all its contacts, would affect them, respondents rated it as more annoying than getting a parking ticket or having a cavity filled -- and 17% even thought it was worse than losing a wallet or keys.

The company surveyed 424 consumers in June 2004. One in two (49%) respondents said that more than half of their business and personal calls are made from their mobile phone, and a third (31%) said that most of their contacts are stored in their phone and nowhere else. The majority (87%) of consumers who have lost their cell phone had to manually re-enter their contact numbers into their replacement phone.

FusionOne's poll shows that 10% of those who have lost or damaged a phone did so while on vacation, usually in a bar, restaurant or while engaged in a sporting or adventure activity. Millions of mobile phones are left in airplanes, airports, rental cars and hotel rooms each year, particularly over the summer vacation period when most travel occurs. Los Angeles airport alone reports finding 400 lost phones a month.

"Considering how much people rely on their mobile phone address book to link them to all their friends, relatives and associates, it's not surprising that losing a phone is so stressful. Recovering all those phone numbers is a time-consuming task," said Bob Borchers, VP of marketing at FusionOne. "In this survey, more than a quarter (26%) of people who have lost their phone took over a week to restore all their contacts, which could easily take the edge off an otherwise enjoyable vacation or deal a heavy blow to a business trip."

About FusionOne, Inc

FusionOne (www.FusionOne.com) delivers a range of services for managing and protecting personal content on the mobile phone, such as address books, calendars and to-do lists. An established leader in wireless synchronization, it focuses on making accessing and updating information from handsets simple and seamless. FusionOne services include MightyBackup (www.MightyBackup.com) and MightyPhone (www.MightyPhone.com). These data mobility solutions leverage the global reach of the Internet and wireless devices enabling mobile phone users to enhance their productivity while safeguarding valuable data. Founded in 1998, FusionOne's worldwide headquarters are located in San Jose, California with additional offices in Tallinn, Estonia.

FusionOne, MightyBackup and MightyPhone are trademarks of FusionOne, Inc. All other product, service and company names are trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.