SMS Research

Soccer Shocker Boosts Vodafone's Text Traffic - 6 July 2004

A report on the Dow Jones Newswire says that Vodafone's GSM network in Portugal benefited enormously from the influx of soccer fans for the Euro 2004 tournament, according to the The Inquirer.

"Spanish fans were the biggest 'roamers' with some 200,000 bringing their handsets with them while 130,000 Brits used their mobiles in Portugal.

In terms of sending text (SMS) messages the Brits came out top, followed by the Spanish and Dutch. During the tournament some six million texts were sent compared to around two million voice calls being made.

It just shows how mobiles help people share their experiences in real time – something which operators should bear in mind when designing services."

Remote Possibilities - Nov 18 2003

A must read, Clive Thompson's article for the The New York Times Magazine, entitled Remote Possibilites, which looks into some of the many (weird) ways today's mobile phones are used:

-- As teleportation devices : Wiring your house so that it can be remotely manipulated by mobile phone -- turning kitchen appliances on and off from the supermarket, for example.

-- Feeding your cat left at home from anywhere in the world using your mobile phone, thanks to a remote control pet feeder.

-- Viewing a Webcam that allows you to zoom in or pan the room, turned on at home to check on a nanny with your kid, or on an elderly relative, controlled and seen through from a mobile phone.

-- Cameraphones are bringing on great changes, making us live in a world with a million prying eyes - Mobile-phone executives are already talking about the advent of ''citizen reporters'' and a world where news breaks first via handsets.

Some interesting studies:

-- Mobile phones are making us ruder: 71 percent of mobile-phone users admit they are now consistently late for social events. Why? Because they can send a flurry of text-messages explaining where they are, how fast they're moving and precisely when they'll arrive, down to the minute.

-- Teenagers -- think nothing of sending dozens of messages a day to a single friend, keeping them in almost telepathic contact with each other. Additionally, partners who do not live together may trade up to 100 text messages a day.

-- The single most commonly sent text message is ''Where are you?''

-- Mobile-phone texters, actually feel more disconnected from the world around them. ''When you're waiting for the bus and it's late, you could talk to the person next to you. But if you're texting to someone, you won't talk to that stranger,''

-- 20 percent of Norwegian teenagers are up past midnight at least one night a week texting with friends, destroying their sleep habits.

Teens Want Phones For Xmas - Nov 6 2003

A survey (CEA's annual holiday shopping consumer research in the US) has found that cell phones are the third most desired present this Christmas for teenagers, according to Cellular News.

While the report found that computers, cd players and games consoles lead the stakes, some 30% of teenagers said that they are looking forward to buying a cell phone.

Consumer Awareness of Text Services Still Low - Oct 30 2003

A recent survey by MediacomNorth has found that although UK consumers still have a low awareness of commercial text message services, they are open to using them.

When asked about communicating with companies and brands via text message 13.2% of mobile phone users responded positively to commercial texting. 48% said that currently they would only text friends and family but this result is likely to be due to a lack of awareness of commercial texting applications or to the negative effect of spamming.