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Internet Brands Resonate Among Prospective Mobile Internet Phone Purchasers, According to The Kelsey Group

Posted on: Thursday, 11 October 2007, 12:00 CDT

PRINCETON, N.J., Oct. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Findings from "Mobile Market View," a mobile consumer study conducted by The Kelsey Group with research partner ConStat, suggest Internet brands resonate with mobile consumers. Prospective mobile Internet phone purchasers indicated they would buy a handset branded by Verizon (38 percent), AT&T (36 percent), Apple (25 percent), Microsoft/MSN (22 percent), Google (20 percent), Yahoo! (18 percent) and AOL (10 percent).

"The gap between the carriers (Verizon and AT&T) and the Internet and technology companies was much smaller than expected, suggesting potentially wide acceptance of portal-branded phones, should they come to market," said Matt Booth, senior vice president and program director, Interactive Local Media, The Kelsey Group. "It makes sense that features that are typically associated with Internet and technology companies are of high importance to consumers for their mobile devices."

Survey respondents also ranked the importance of six mobile Internet capabilities. Better connectivity to other devices (54 percent) and improved ability to store and look at photos (51 percent) received the highest importance ratings, followed by ability to access the Internet more easily (45 percent), listen to music or other audio content (34 percent), play games (25 percent) and watch TV or Internet videos (20 percent).

"We developed the Mobile Market View study to generate broad, rich foundational research that will offer the marketplace a better understanding of how mobile usage is evolving," said Stephen Marshall, director of research and senior analyst, The Kelsey Group. "We will repeat the study on a regular basis in order to provide consistent data for tracking and interpretation of consumer usage patterns, attitudes, interest in specific features, and receptiveness to new business models across mobile devices and platforms."

The Kelsey Group recently announced initial findings from Mobile Market View in which 45 percent of U.S. mobile phone users surveyed say a mobile phone with better Internet capability will be a key factor in their next mobile phone purchase decision. According to the survey, only 26 percent of mobile phone service subscribers currently opt for an Internet access plan.

About Mobile Market View

Mobile Market View is a tracking study of mobile user behavior conducted by The Kelsey Group and research partner ConStat. This first wave of the study was conducted in September 2007 via an online 30-question survey of 500 U.S. mobile phone users aged 18 and older.

About The Kelsey Group

The Kelsey Group is the leading provider of research, data and strategic analysis on directories, small-business advertising, online local media and mobile advertising. Founded in 1986, the company has built a reputation as the premier analyst firm covering the directory publishing community and the emerging local search marketplace, providing advisory services (The Kelsey Report(R) and Interactive Local Media), publishing (Global Yellow Pages(TM)), consulting (more than 400 individual assignments) and conferences (69 events).

Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s), click appropriate link. Matthew Booth https://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=48602

The Kelsey Group

CONTACT: Eileen Pacheco for The Kelsey Group, +1-781-556-1026,eileen@tango-group.com

Web site: http://www.kelseygroup.com/

Source: PRNewswire

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