People found their Internet-enabled mobile phones frustrating from the start with technical set-up problems and confusing phone interfaces. The complaints continued even once these problems were overcome. Mobile content was considered to take far too long to download. Even those who did succeed in downloading quickly hit a wall in terms of storage capacity. Unreliable access was also an issue, particularly for mobile TV.
“I’m still disappointed that the Internet on my mobile didn’t
work as I expected” // Female, 52 – Cologne
“Accessing the Internet on a mobile still has a lot of imperfections… they
still have a long way to go” // Female, 29 – Shanghai
“The idea of 3G is great but it’s slow, it’s all blurry” //
Female, 28 - London
However IM on mobile phones was well received. Mobile games were also popular
with most and mobile TV had a following. Although accessing the Internet
over mobile hones is the future, it’s still in its infancy. Marketers
should recognise those elements of mobile phone Intern et that have gained
a foothold, and focus on exploring marketing opportunities around these
areas. For brands seeking to reach and engage with younger or highly tech
savvy audiences, opportunities already exist.
