Strategy Analytics' survey paints a day in the life of the connected mobile worker

Mobile Internet, The, August, 2005

67 percent of wireless voice and data usage now indoors as'mobility premium' recedes

Strategy Analytics recently released "Understanding Usage, Proficiencies &Pain Points in Western European Business Cellular Users," probing the latest trends in mobile device ownership and usage, highlighting worker mobility patterns, and revealing significant end-user roadblocks to wireless adoption in SMEs and large enterprises.

Cliff Raskind, Director of the Wireless Enterprise Strategies service, commented, "From mobilized PBX extensions to wireless email, this study registered healthy levels of interest in extending basic 21st century work tools onto the handset.

This confirms that certain user segments have an almost insatiable appetite for connectivity and enhanced access to critical productivity applications while at work, at home and on the move."

David Kerr, VP of the Global Wireless Practice, noted, "The business user is more than twice as likely to carry the mobile phone than a notebook when away from the desk. Naturally, these mobile workers are keenly interested in expanding both voice and email/PIM access to their preferred device. Nevertheless, discontent around mobile device ease-of-use, navigating complex user interfaces and accessing the full range of an application's utility remains a frustration."

Highlights from this study include:

* Mobile business users spend on average 78 euros consuming 420 minutes and over 100 SMS events each month

* Almost two-thirds of voice and data minutes now occur 'at work' or 'at home'

* More than one-third regularly use their mobile phone around the office

* Over two-thirds of laptop users have Wi-Fi, though over one-third 'rarely ' or 'never' use it

* Over 40 percent are interested in a mobile extension of their PBX

* Half are interested in wireless email, with attachment handling and QWERTY-enabled text composition, which is deemed essential by about one-third.

More information, including a complete breakdown of mobile business voice minutes across major usage domains (home, office, car, plane/train), may be found at www.strategyanalytics.com/press/ PR00202.htm