A Fist Full of Pennies?
Amid the fist full of dollars mobile operator are making on mobile content, a survey by NOP states that APRU is only *really* being generated by a small few.
A new NOP survey of 1,000 adult users for Olista found that 64 percent of those who tried to use mobile data, from picture messaging to ringtone or game downloading, said they would give up trying if one or two attempts failed. Only 2 percent of those buyers would even bother trying to contact customer service about the problem. NOP reports that 77 percent of mobile customers have not tried data services and, among those who had, only 12 percent said they were “completely satisfied” with the experience.
Mobile voice users have a laundry list of reasons why content on phones does not yet appeal to them. A.T. Kearney and Cambridge’s Judge Business School discovered that price and security along with concerns over quality are keeping users away from content.
There is a real issue at hand here involving the perceived value of mobile applications. Early experiences for many consumers have been poor. By overselling data services earlier than the applications or network speeds can satisfy them, the industry left a bad taste in many consumers’ mouths.
Source: TelecomWeb
Are we back to the days of 2001 where the arguement over which was deficient (the network vs. the handset)? Frankly, I’m not too surprised by these statistics that are reported. I still see Verizon, Sprint and others advertising voice, their strong networks and people talking on the phone. While I have seen some commercials about mobile data and content, surprisingly the one that *is* making an impact are the ones by Nokia. Stories about Ed and humming the theme song to the Dukes of Hazzard seems to have more impact than the Verizon Wireless “Can You Hear Me Now” Guy. Why can’t Mobile Operators continue to saturate the market with their mobile data services and partnerships with Yahoo, Google, and others? If they really want to increase ARPU by leaps and bounds, why not advertise it!?!
We seem to still be stuck in the mode of worrying about service coverage in the US, our minute plans, if the person we are calling is “in” our network, or if I am calling long distance, it’s easier to use my mobile than remembering my calling card number and/or paying more for long distance.
The web players are really gearing up for 2006. Which is looking like a major year for unveiling wireless offerings. Mobile Operators seem to need that continual nudge by the whole ecosystem who would all like to make more money — let’s just hope the executives are *really* getting the messages from all sides.
Backup Regularly
One of the rules of owning a personal computer is to back up your personal files regularly. As our mobile phones become more than just devices to talk, we need to understand that our personal data that we are accumulating needs to be backed up too. Our MP3s, digital photos, games, contact list and calendar.
Iamota, which stands for “I Am Over The Air,” develops and markets mobile applications and secure online services that help people backup and share their mobile contacts and calendar events. This online service which links to you phone seems to be one of the many in a promising application segment where there is convergence between web applications and mobile phones.
A hardware alternative to this which was announced in November, is Spark Technology’s CellStik. It’s simpler than signing up for a service — you just attach the CellStik to your phone (where you plug in the charger) and it will backup your contact list. Once you’re done, just use the other end of the device which has a USB connector. The device (about $40 at Amazon.com), can also take contacts from your desktop and transfer then to your phone as well.So with either solution, as long as you backup regularly, you should minimize your risk of data loss, slowed business productivity, and increase peace of mind.