Sprint releases wireless consumer usage report
One third of Us respondents want to play mobile games
US mobile carrier Sprint has announced the results of its US consumer wireless usage study, revealing that half of American consumers rely on their devices for a multitude of non-telephony based functions.
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 features such as clocks, calendars, music, 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."
Of the 676 respondents, 63 per cent said they would use their phones for retrieving maps or directions, whilst just over half of respondents said that the camera function was an essential feature for mobile handsets.
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 claim 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.