One third of mobile phone users want to play games- Survey

US mobile carrier Sprint has announced the results of its US consumer wireless usage study, revealing that a third of its American wireless customers want to play games on their phones.

The survey, conducted among a nationwide sample of US adults subscribing to mobile phone services, revealed that 56 per cent of respondents rely on their mobile devices for non telephony-based features such as clocks, calendars, music, games, cameras and even as a makeshift torch in the dark.

Jeff Hallock, VP of product marketing and strategy at Sprint, commented: "The list of features and data applications available on mobile phones continues to grow to meet the needs of consumers on the go. Whether it's using location-based services to get driving directions, listening to streaming music or watching live TV, consumers are finding that the mobile phone is the one item they depend on most to stay connected and entertained."

One third of respondents expressed a desire to play games on their phones, the survey revealing some interesting insights into when and where games are played. 57 per cent of mobile gamers claimed to have played games whilst in the doctor's office, 52 percent while commuting, 37 percent while waiting in airport terminals and nearly a third of gamers (32 percent) admitted to playing games whilst using the toilet.

"Sprint continues to see a strong interest in mobile games from both casual gamers and active gamers." Hallock added. "For example, one customer has played Bejeweled Multiplayer by Jamdat more than 40,000 times - that's almost 2,000 hours of gameplay!"

When asked what functions customers would like to add to their phones, still cameras came out on top (29 per cent), though mobile games shared the bottom of the priority list with TV/video clips at just eight per cent.