Tag: Smartphones

More Smartphone Owners Using Local Search And Social Networking

More people are increasingly using their smartphones for local search, social networking and gaming, according to a new survey from Compete.

Nearly one in three smartphone owners has called or stopped into a local business after finding it using a local search application. In the first quarter, close to a third of Android and iPhone users found at least two new businesses that they previously were not aware after using local search applications.

"With the increasing popularity of local search, retailers should ensure their sites are optimized for mobile browsers," said Danielle Nohe, director, technology and entertainment for Compete.

"Making it easy for consumers to discover businesses via their devices opens local companies up to a whole new customer demographic, and savvy businesses should make sure they’re maximizing this opportunity."

Consumers are increasingly accessing social networking sites via their mobile devices. According to Compete’s findings, 33 percent of smartphone Twitter users primarily send tweets via their smartphones, and 33 percent of these consumers prefer to read tweets on their phone. Of those accessing Facebook from their smartphone, consumers are increasingly using the device to read news feeds (66 percent), post status updates (60 percent), read/reply to private messages (59 percent) and post photos (44 percent).

"Given the increasing popularity of Facebook, Twitter and other social sites, it follows that users are eager to access these outlets on their phones," said Nohe.

"Based on our findings, I recommend marketers start thinking about new ways to maximize consumers’ use of smartphones on social sites, as mobile adoption will likely only increase with time."

Over half (51%) of iPhone users have five or more games on their devices. In contrast, 46 percent of BlackBerry users have no games on their smartphones. Not only do iPhone owners download more games, they play games more frequently than do owners of other smartphones. Of the consumers surveyed, 37 percent of iPhone users report playing games on their smartphones at least daily and puzzle games seem to be capturing the majority of this attention.

"It’s evident that iPhone owners have embraced mobile gaming," commented Nohe. "Developers should turn their attention to targeting other smartphone users in an effort to even out the discrepancies in mobile gaming adoption."

July 6, 2010
HP’s Acquisition of Palm is Complete

Update: The acquisition is now complete. See releases from HP and Palm.

Original Article (04/28): Hewlett-Packard just announced its intent to buy Palm for $1.2 Billion at $5.70 per share. The transaction has already been approved by the HP and Palm boards of directors.

The move was made to give HP a better shot at winning some smartphone marketshare – an industry quickly growing.

"Palm’s innovative operating system provides an ideal platform to expand HP’s mobility strategy and create a unique HP experience spanning multiple mobile connected devices,” said Todd Bradley, executive vice president, Personal Systems Group, HP. "And, Palm possesses significant IP assets and has a highly skilled team. The smartphone market is large, profitable and rapidly growing, and companies that can provide an integrated device and experience command a higher share. Advances in mobility are offering significant opportunities, and HP intends to be a leader in this market."

"We’re thrilled by HP’s vote of confidence in Palm’s technological leadership, which delivered Palm webOS and iconic products such as the Palm Pre. HP’s longstanding culture of innovation, scale and global operating resources make it the perfect partner to rapidly accelerate the growth of webOS," said Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein. "We look forward to working with HP to continue to deliver industry-leading mobile experiences to our customers and business partners."

Rubinstein, is expected to remain with the company.

July 1, 2010
Google’s AdMob Reflects on 2 Years of Mobile Evolution

AdMob released its Mobile Metrics report for May, which focuses on changes in the mobile market over the course of two years. Unsurprisingly, a lot has changed. While AdMob’s network traffic itself has grown a lot in that time, the company says there continues to be strong regional differences with devices used to access the mobile web.

"Smartphones have also grown rapidly, in May 2008 they generated 22 percent of ad requests and in May 2010 smartphones accounted for 46 percent of ad requests," the company reports. "In May 2008, the iPhone and iPod touch generated 1.3 percent of worldwide requests and the first Android handset was still six months from launching. Two years later, the two platforms accounted for 42 percent of all ad requests worldwide, driven by strong application usage."

Other highlights picked out by the company include:

– 92 countries generated more than 10 million monthly requests, up from 27 in May 2008.

– Traffic from North America, Asia, Western Europe, Latin America and Oceania all increased by a factor of at least 6x from May 2008 to May 2010.

– Smartphones accounted for 46 percent of traffic, feature phones for 42 percent of traffic and Mobile Internet Devices for 12 percent of traffic in May 2010.

– Motorola feature phones were the top three devices in AdMob’s network in May 2008, but in May 2010 the only Motorola device in the top ten was the Droid.

– The Nokia N70 was the number one smartphone in AdMob’s network in May 2008. It dropped to number two in May 2009 and down to number four in May 2010, but continues to be the top smartphone from Nokia in AdMob’s network.

– The Top 5 iPad countries in AdMob’s network, based on the number of unique devices, were the United States (58 percent), Japan (5 percent), United Kingdom (4 percent), China (4 percent), and Canada (3 percent).

– A year ago, the HTC Dream (G1) was the only Android device broadly available. In May 2010, the leading handset, the Motorola Droid, had only 21 percent of the Android users in the AdMob network demonstrating the broad range of Android devices available.

Remember that all of the findings mentioned are based solely on data from AdMob’s own network, which is quite large, but not all encompassing. Much of the data, however, pre-dates AdMob’s acquisition by Google.

The entire report can be found here.

June 30, 2010
Smartphones Continue to Threaten GPS Device Usage

comScore has released some numbers about smartphone and feature phone browser and app usage, as it relates to map access and mobile navigation in the U.S. These numbers are based on a study, which found 14% of mobile users in the U.S. accessed maps on their devices in April, as the mobile map audience reached 33.5 million users, a 44% increase from last year.

More mobile users are also now accessing maps via apps as opposed to the browser, the study found.

"People are increasingly turning to their mobile phone for maps and directions when on the go," says comScore SVP of mobile, Mark Donovan. "With summer travel season upon us, we expect even more mobile users to access both maps and location-based local search to help them navigate and find geographically relevant information."

Here are a few charts worth looking at:

"87 percent of mobile navigation users are accessing maps and directions while driving," notes Donovan. "Clearly indicating that the rising sophistication of smartphones poses a challenge to dedicated GPS systems."

I’d say the rising popularity of smartphones will contribute to that quite a bit as well. It will be quite interesting to see what these numbers look like a year from now. More stats from the study can be found here.

June 26, 2010
Smartphones Driving Mobile Recovery

The global mobile phone market grew 21.7 percent in the first quarter of 2010, a strong rebound over the first quarter of 2009, according to the latest report from IDC.

Vendors shipped 294.9 million units in the first quarter of 2010 compared to 242.4 million units a year earlier.

Smartphones and a recovering traditional mobile phone category helped the market avoid a repeat of Q109, when the market dove 16.6 percent during the recession.

Growing demand for smartphones also helped Research In Motion (RIM) move into the top 5 vendor rankings for the first time. RIM, which replaced Motorola in the top 5, tied Sony Ericsson for the number 4 position in IDC’s Q110 vendor rankings. RIM shipped 10.6 million units in the first quarter while Motorola, which had been a top 5 vendor since the start of IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker in 2004, shipped 8.5 million units. Motorola, the number 2 overall vendor in 2004, landed a fifth place finish last year due to its overall strength in the lower-growth traditional mobile phone category. Motorola has steadily lost share since 2004 when the market started its shift toward higher-end feature phones and smartphones. The ongoing shift has given rise to mobile device vendors such as RIM and Apple.

"That the mobile phone market has rebounded by double digits year over year in a post-holiday quarter is definitely good news for the industry," said Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC’s Mobile Devices Technology and Trends team.

"Whereas last year we saw much uncertainty around demand and overall reluctance to introduce new devices, vendors have been very vocal about their intentions this year, with some even launching new devices in the first quarter of 2010. In addition, the continued emphasis on converged mobile devices points to greater revenue generation and profitability opportunities for vendors, which is a welcome change compared to the same quarter a year ago."

IDC said it believes the worldwide mobile phone market rebound will continue in 2010, though not at the same growth rate as the first quarter.

"It should be noted that the market’s first-quarter growth, while impressive, is relative to one of the worst quarters in mobile phone industry history (1Q09)," said Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst with IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker.

"The market’s growth should not be taken as a proxy for future quarters nor annual growth. In fact, the results essentially match our first quarter projections. We are still expecting growth of 11% for 2010."

April 30, 2010
Touch Screen Mobile Phones Lead To Higher Satisfaction

Overall satisfaction among smartphone and traditional handset owners whose phones feature touch screens is significantly higher than owners that don’t have touch screens, according to a new report from J.D. Power and Associates.

Among smartphone owners that have a touch screen, satisfaction averages 771 on a 1,000-point scale, nearly 40 points higher than among those whose smartphone features other input methods. Currently just over half of owners indicate their smartphone has a touch screen for navigation.

"Touch screens are ideal for those using their phone for entertainment, as the displays are generally larger and provide a richer viewing experience," said Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services at J.D. Power and Associates.

"It is critical, however, that manufacturers meet expectations with regard to providing adequate battery life, as these large displays can drain batteries very quickly. In addition, for customers to have a truly rewarding experience, wireless carriers must continue to provide problem-free, high-speed downloads, as customers rely on them to deliver content quickly and on the go."

Apple ranks highest in customer satisfaction among makers of smartphones with a score of 810, and performs well in ease of operation, operating system, features and physical design. RIM BlackBerry (741) trails Apple in the rankings.

The study found both smartphone and traditional handset owners are increasingly using their devices for entertainment and sharing media with others. Among traditional handset owners, 25 percent regularly send and receive multimedia and picture messages, an increase of 25 percent from six months ago.

Smartphone users are nearly twice as likely to share multimedia messages. In addition, 17 percent of smartphone owners with touch screens indicate the frequently download and watch video content on their device.

April 1, 2010
UK Leads Europe In Smartphone Adoption

Smartphone adoption in the EU5 (U.K., France, Germany, Spain, Italy) has grown 32 percent compared to a year ago to 51.6 million subscribers, according to a new report from comScore.

Growth can bee seen across the range of monthly subscription fees, but the mid to low tier is growing faster that high tier subscriptions in each of the EU5 markets.

The U.K. market has a significant lead in the growth of smartphone adoption over the past year, growing 70 percent to more than 11 million subscribers. France ranks second in growth with the number of smartphone subscribers up 48 percent to 7 million. Italy has the largest number of smartphone subscribers overall (15 million) but showed the smallest growth in the market at 11 percent.

"Smartphones are generally seen as luxury devices that come with big price tags and high monthly tariffs, yet the largest segment of the market and the one demonstrating greatest momentum is actually the low to mid tier," says Alistair Hill, senior mobile analyst at

comScore

.

"The growth in these tiers suggests that as smartphones become more affordable to the majority of European consumers, their proliferation will increase considerably and lead to a surge in mobile content and data consumption. Such market dynamics offer substantial opportunity for different players in the mobile ecosystem — from operators and manufacturers to publishers and advertisers — and underscore the importance of competing for customers now to engender long-term loyalty."

March 31, 2010
T-Mobile Customers Bigger on Stocks, Bill Pay?

Last week, we saw some interesting findings from AdMob about smartphone usage. Now Compete has shared some of its own findings with WebProNews. The firm recently conducted a Smartphone Intelligence Survey.

About 47% of T-Mobile smartphone users use their phones to find local branches and ATMs, while 45% of AT&T users and 36% of Sprint users reported doing this (see chart #1 for data).

According to the survey, 34% of T-Mobile users use their phones to pay bills, followed by AT&T users (31%), Sprint users (23%) and Verizon users (21%).

While the numbers were lower, 19% of T-Mobile smartphone owners used their phones to buy/sell stocks. 11% of AT&T and Verizon users also bought/sold stocks, while only 8% of Sprint users reported buying/selling stocks.

73% of smartphone owners reported using their devices for at least one shopping-related activity during the holiday season.

Currently, 38% of smartphone owners conduct leisure travel research on their mobile devices (at least some of the time), according to the findings. This compares to 27% using mobile for leisure travel bookings, 20% using for business travel research, and 15% using for business travel bookings.

The findings present an interesting look at how people are using their devices to interact with the mobile web and make decisions.

March 29, 2010
T-Mobile Ranks Highest In Customer Satisfaction

As more wireless users switch to smartphones, many retailers are readjusting their mobile strategies to address the needs of these users, according to a new study by J.D. Power and Associates.

The semiannual report analyzed evaluations from customers who recently had an in-store wireless retail sales experience. Overall customer satisfaction with major wireless carrier-branded stores is based on four factors. In order of importance, they are: sales staff (49%); price and promotion (27%); store facility (14%); and display (10%).

Nearly 40 percent of customers who visited a wireless retail store in the past six months to replace or upgrade a phone from a previous carrier, switch carriers or sign up for wireless service for the first time now own smartphones.

The study finds that satisfaction with the retail experience among smartphone owners averages 11 index points higher (on a 1,000-point scale) than that of traditional wireless handset owners (727 vs. 716, on average), despite the fact that smartphones require additional service plan options and are more complex to operate. Smartphone owners are more satisfied than traditional handset owners in all factors, particularly with regard to the sales staff.

"The increase in smartphone sales will have a long-term impact on how carriers handle their customers’ needs," said Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services at J.D. Power and Associates.

"These phones do require retailers to adapt by constantly training sales staff to keep pace with new features and offerings, but carrying out simple tasks, such as explaining the phone’s operation, provides salespeople with a great opportunity to optimize the customer’s wireless experience and fosters greater loyalty to both the carrier and store."

T-Mobile ranks highest in customer satisfaction among major wireless carrier-owned retail stores for a second consecutive time with a score of 723, performing well with regard to sales staff and price promotions. Verizon Wireless trailed closely (722) and AT&T followed (712). The industry average was 719.

"In general, wireless carriers are succeeding in adapting to the quickly evolving landscape by ensuring their sales representatives are highly knowledgeable about newer offerings such as smartphones and the high-speed data plans they utilize," said Parsons.

"As consumers continue to take advantage of the latest technology, it is crucial for sales staff to be knowledgeable about all phone models and service plans available and to continue to display a high level of courtesy and honesty during the sales process to ensure satisfaction levels improve."

March 4, 2010
Which Smartphones Emit The Most Radiation?

Motorola Droid, BlackBerry Bold 9700, LG Chocolate Touch and HTC Nexus One are pushing the limits of radiofrequency radiation safety limits set by the Federal Communications Commission, according to a new report from the Environmental Working Group (EWG).

The EWG says the ads and good ratings for those smartphones do not reveal they are some of the highest radiation emitters among the phones currently on the market.

The report found there are three new phones that emit significantly less radiation including Motorola Brute, Pantech Impact and Samsung Mythic.

"A number of health agencies around the world advise people to reduce exposures to cell phone radiation, driven by recent studies raising questions about the safety of this radiation, particularly for children," said Jane Houlihan, senior vice president for research at Environmental Working Group.

"That’s why it’s essential for consumers to have radiation output information before they purchase phones for themselves and their families."

EWG has updated its online consumer guide to cell phone radiation, launched last year, to cover the latest mobile devices. The guide contains information on more than 1,000 cell phones and smartphones available in the U.S.

February 20, 2010
Blockbuster Partners With T-Mobile On Movie Download Service

Blockbuster is trying to make some gains in the mobile space by being the exclusive movie download service for T-Mobile’s upcoming HTC HD2 smartphone.

"Available exclusively from T-Mobile, the HTC HD2 is like putting Blockbuster in your pocket," said Kevin Lewis, senior vice president of digital entertainment at Blockbuster.

"T-Mobile and HTC have a long history of partnering to deliver innovative, cutting-edge products – and we’re glad to provide customers the latest way to enjoy entertainment from Blockbuster."

The mobile movie application for Blockbuster On Demand is part of the company’s multichannel offering to connect users with over 100,000 movies, televisions shows and games.

Users will be able to buy or rent movies and download them to their smartphone via Wi-Fi. Users can also buy content on their HTC HD2 phone and watch it on a Blockbuster On Demand enabled TV set or Blu-ray player. The app does not have any monthly fees, allowing users to pay as they go.

The move by Blockbuster could help it to better compete against rival Netflix, which does not yet offer streaming video to a mobile devices.

February 17, 2010
Verizon Adds Skype Calls To Smartphones

Verizon Wireless has partnered with Skype on a Skype mobile application that will launch on smartphones in March.

The move makes Verizon the first major U.S. carrier to offer Skype to its mobile users. The Skype mobile app is for smartphone users who have a data plan with Verizon.

Initially, Skype mobile will be available on smartphones with data plans including the BlackBerry Storm 9530, Storm 2, Curve, Droid by Motorola, Droid Eris by HTC and Motorola Devour.

Key features of Skype mobile include:

*Make and receive unlimited Skype-to-Skype voice calls globally

*Make international calls at lower calling rates

*Instant messaging to other Skype users

"Skype mobile on Verizon Wireless changes the game. For Verizon Wireless’ more than 90 million customers, Skype mobile adds great value because we’re effectively giving customers with smartphones and data plans the option to extend their unlimited calling community to hundreds of millions of Skype users around the globe," said John Stratton, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon Wireless.

February 16, 2010
Use QR Code to Increase Traffic and Sales

QR (or Quick Response) code is not a new technology. Actually it’s been around for sixteen years or so, but the ever-increasing popularity of smartphones and their support of QR-code-reading apps is making use of the codes more popular than ever. It’s a very easy way to attract the attention of a potential customer with a scannable (often curiosity-inducing) link to your website or latest promotion. There’s something about a QR code that makes smartphone users want to scan them.

There are various ways to use the codes to increase your sales. Here are a few:

– Use them to simply drive traffic to your site. You can place a code in a print ad, on your signage, on your business card, etc. Anywhere potential customers might see it, you can include it, and if you catch them in the right frame of mind, they may just scan it.

– Use one as a call to action. Simply tell people to scan it and link it to a special offer. Maybe it links to a printable coupon. Maybe it links to a promotion code for a discount on their next purchase. They don’t have to be in print, by the way. You can use them on your site.

– Use them in creative ways. Dana Oshiro at Mashable looked at 5 unique uses for QR codes a while back. One of them was self-branding through swag you pass out (hats, shirts, coffee mugs, etc.)

There are a bunch of QR-Code reading apps. Mobile-Barcodes.com has a good list of them. Perusing the list, you will find that many mobile devices will support the technology. Likewise, there are a number of sites you can go to and easily create a unique QR Code on the fly. If you search for "QR Code Generators" you will find a number of them.

Have you ever used a QR Code for promotion? How well did it work? Comment here.

February 15, 2010
5 Reasons Why The iPad Fails To Impress

On January 27th Steve Jobs unveiled Apples latest “it” product, the iPad. Essentially the iPad “fills the gap” in between smartphones and laptops. One question remains to be answered, is there a need for a device to bridge the gap in between the two technologies? We’re not sure yet, but there is one thing we know, the iPad has some issues… below are 5 of the most glaring.

Are you planning on purchasing an iPad? Let us know.

1.) The Name
Numerous names were being thrown around in the months/weeks leading up to the release (iTablet, iSlate, iPad) but which name was Apple going to choose? I had grown accustomed to referring to the device as the iTablet, I could even see calling it the iSlate… but iPad never seemed quite right. Why would Apple want to name their new product something that sounds so familiar to the iPod? Some people are objecting to the name referring to it as the “iTampon”.

Talk about foresight, this Mad TV iPad skit aired several years ago… and easily became 10x funnier.

2.) No Multitasking
Are you serious… who thought this was a good idea? How can the iPad even compete with Netbooks if you can’t multitask? This means that if you’re writing a document you can’t listen to music, you can’t have TweetDeck open if you want to check your email, you can only do one thing at a time, which has always been a complaint with the iPhone.

3.) No Camera
Why is there no camera on the iPad, front or back? It’s got a microphone… but no camera. Look at the size of the case that surrounds the screen, there is ample space for a camera. The iPad should’ve at least come with a 3-megapixel camera built in. As it stands, this means no iChat/Skype chat for you. Good move Apple, good move.

4.) Huge Ridiculous Adapters
Want to access your camera or plug in something USB… well there’s an adapter for that, actually 2 separate adapters both excessively huge.

5.) Same Touch Keyboard
The iPad needed to re-revolutionize the keypad for touchscreen devices, make it easier to use. So what did we get… just a larger version of what we already had. It’ll be incredibly hard to type on, unless you’re lying flat with your knees holding the device up, or you buy the iPad Case (essentially a book cover).

BONUS: No Flash (We just couldn’t stop at 5)
Most of us are probably accustomed to Apple devices not being Flash compatible, but if Apple is truly wanting to compete with other Netbooks they need to remedy this. With a larger screen comes more responsibilities, i.e. you can’t just leave gigantic holes in the middle of webpages if you claim it to be "the best web experience you’ve ever had".

The iPad is still in its infancy, so we’re sure that it’ll get better with time. Only time will tell if Apple’s iPad will be a success or an iFlop.

What are some other problems you see with the iPad? Leave us a comment.

February 1, 2010
Will Apple and Google Have Some Real Smartphone Competition?

Back in November, Sony Ericsson announced its new smartphone the Xperia X10. It has been much anticipated by mobile enthusiasts, and is expected to give other popular phones (like the iPhone) some interesting competition.

At the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Sony Ericsson was of course demonstrating this device, and WebProNews dropped by the company’s booth to check it out first-hand. Check that out in the following clip.

"The XPERIA X10 is a fantastic example of our make.believe philosophy because we are pushing the boundaries of what is possible and demonstrating that anything consumers can imagine, we can make possible," Rikko Sakaguchi, EVP and Chief Creation Officer, Sony Ericsson said. "With the X10, we are raising the bar we have set ourselves with entertainment-rich phones like Aino and Satio by making communication more fun and playful, multiplying and enriching opportunities to connect."

A couple of the device’s interesting features include "Timescape" and "Mediascape". Timescape provides the user with a chronological collection of all of their communication (email, Facebook, text messages, phone calls, etc.) on the phone in a single place. Mediascape provides a similar functionality but stores music, videos, and photos. It also has some cool facial-recognition functionality.

"The XPERIA X10 and the family of phones launching in the first half of 2010 underpin our commitment to an open and multi-platform strategy that maximises choice for the consumer and delivers the best possible consumer experience," says Bert Nordberg, President, Sony Ericsson. "The reaction from our global operator partners to the XPERIA X10 has been extremely positive and we will be rolling out across the world including Japan from the first half of 2010."

It is currently unknown when the device will become available in the U.S. It is expected to hit Canada in Q1 and Q2.

Related Articles:

> Checking Out Boxee’s Version of the Future of TV

> A Close Up with Sony’s New Personal Internet Viewer

> The World’s Smallest USB Drive and Portable Hard Drive

January 18, 2010
Consumer Electronic Sales To Top $165 Billion In 2010

The consumer electronics (CE) industry is set to generate more than $165 billion in U.S. shipment revenues this year, a slight increase from 2009, according to the semi-annual industry forecast released by the Consumer Electronics Association.

CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro announced the forecast in his opening remarks at the 2010 International CES technology trade show.

"2009 is a year none of us wish to repeat and now we look forward to 2010. There is light at the end of the tunnel and it is the bright light of innovation," said Shapiro.

"We are seeing more innovation at this show than at any show in our history. There are a record number of new exhibitors, more than 330, among the 2,500 companies showcasing the next generation of technology."

The CE industry will see positive growth in 2010 after a revenue dip in 2009. Total industry shipment revenue fell an estimated 7.8 percent in 2009.

The wireless handset category is on track to have a strong 2010, becoming the main revenue driver for the industry. Smartphones continue to lead the way, generating nearly $17 billion in shipment revenue and more than 52 million unit sales in 2010. Smartphones account for more than 30 percent of total wireless phone shipments, with that number increasing in the years ahead.

Sales of computers will also be a bright spot in 2010 driven by the popularity of netbooks. Netbook sales more than doubled in 2009 as the computer category showed stronger sales than forecasts predicted. In 2010, more than 30 million notebooks will be sold, generating more than $14 billion in revenue.

"Smartphones and netbooks are primed for strong growth as consumers continue to seek efficient, portable devices," said Steve Koenig, CEA’s director of industry analysis.

"With more consumers seeking content anywhere, anytime, the demand for products facilitating these experiences will drive purchases going forward."

Blu-ray players will continue to grow after a solid 2009. Blu-ray unit sales increased 155 percent in 2009 with more than seven million units being sold, generating more than $1 billion in revenue. In 2010, unit sales are forecast to top 11.5 million and revenues to increase to $1.4 billion.

Television unit sales will climb to more than 37 million in 2010 but price drops will cause display revenue to decline slightly to $22 billion. Innovation in TV displays, such as 3D, Internet connectivity and OLED technology, will continue to grow and help maintain revenue in the display category. CEA projects sales of more than 4 million 3D television sets in 2010.

Related Articles:

> CES: Opera Releases New SDKs and New Browser

> Cisco Leaving a Big Mark on Consumer Electronics Show

> HP Unveils New Touch Notebook and Some New Minis at CES

January 8, 2010
Smartphone Owners Frustrated By Poor Mobile Site Functionality
Smartphone owners are more comfortable making purchases from their handsets, but poor mobile site functionality is still a frustration for many, according to a new survey by Compete.

While m-commerce is set for strong growth in 2010, consumers are still more likely to abandon mobile purchasing on sites that are not optimized for the on-the-go experience, similar to shopping cart abandonment in the early days of ecommerce.

Compete’s Q3 Smartphone Intelligence survey found that eight percent of smartphone owners that tried to purchase a product on their device were unable to do so. Nearly half (45%) of those that abandoned the process said that they did so because the site would not load, and an additional 38 percent left the site because it was not developed specifically for smartphone users.

"Retailers are beginning to recognize that smartphone use is no longer limited to an exclusive group of tech savvy consumers," said Danielle Nohe, director of consumer technologies for Compete.

"As these devices proliferate – and people grow more comfortable transacting, site owners must redesign around mobile shopping ease-of-use. We see this as a win for both consumers and businesses."

Key findings from the survey include:
- 37 percent of smartphone owners have purchased something non-mobile with their handset in the past 6 months.
- 19 percent of total smartphone owners have purchased music from their device, 14 percent have purchased books, DVDs, or video games and 12 percent have purchased movie tickets.
- The most popular mobile shopping-related activities are still research related – 41 percent of iPhone users and 43 percent of Android users are most likely to check sale prices at alternative locations from their mobile phones while they are shopping.
- The second most likely activity is accessing consumer reviews, with 39 percent of iPhone owners and 31 percent of Android owners investigating reviews from their handset before they purchase.
Related Articles:

>Google Launches Custom Search For Smartphones

>Buy A Blackberry From Walmart Get A $100 Gift Card

>Apple And LG Rank High In Consumer Satisfaction
January 4, 2010