Mark Regan

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Customers Want Mobile To Step Up Its Game

It looks like the parts of my new iPhone I love were also liked by Time Magazine, who named the gadget the Invention of the Year. It also seems that a lot of what the device offers hits on what cell phone buyers really want, particularly in one area. A study that looked at the mobile phone consumer population uncovered their biggest want: better Internet capability.As I mentioned in my last post, trying to view the Internet on my Treo could be painful. The browser would only sometimes realize that my device was a small screen, so I'd get a jumbled mess of squares and text. Now that I'm using the Safari browser on my iPhone, I can't believe I struggled with the Treo as long as I did. It seems like I'm not the only one, as 47% of the people in this study want a more seamless experience, too.What's interesting is this same study notes that of the population who is wanting this upgrade to their mobile browsing experience, only 26% of them sign up for Internet access plans with the cell phone provider. It makes you wonder if the number is so low due to poor experiences, or because there's a general feeling that the technology just isn't worth paying for yet.It also points to all of the untapped potential for mobile advertising still, since the technology hasn't caught up to some of the possibilities. In a recent study by the Kelsey group, they're expecting a 112% compound growth rate in the amount of ad revenue. It really brings home the potential for so many things: better user experience, easier ways for companies to reach consumers, and best of all, more mobility for both!You can read the full article on the study here.