Security a key concern for mobile services take-up

A multi-country study by Lightspeed Research has revealed the increasingly prominent role that mobile phones are taking in people's lives.

With ownership of mobile phones so high and so many different functions now available, it is increasingly important to understand how people are using their mobile phones and what future opportunities there might be for new applications.

Of the four countries surveyed (the UK, France, Germany and the US) it was Americans (49 per cent) and Britons (30 per cent) who were most likely to agree that their mobile phone was now an essential part of their daily life and they would be lost without it.

46 per cent of people in Britain (46 per cent) stated they carried their phones with them most of the time - with the 55-64-year-olds most likely to do so.

Younger respondents (18-34) were more likely to feel their mobile was an essential part of their daily life and they would be 'lost without it'.

Underlining this finding is the fact that 67 per cent of Brits leave their mobiles on at night - and only 14 per cent of those switch it to silent.

In some markets there are users who never make phone calls from their mobile.

In the UK, 11 per cent of respondents never make calls; that figure is higher in the US at 13 per cent.

In the UK, 33 per cent of respondents make no more than two calls a week - this behaviour is seen in 18 per cent of US respondents.

Texting is popular in the UK with 49 per cent sending at least one SMS per day and two per cent sending a picture or video message (MMS) daily.

Women send more text messages than men - with 56 per cent compared with 42 per cent sending at least one text per day; men make more daily voice calls - 41 per cent compared with 32 per cent of women.

Mobile phones have evolved with new features such as cameras, games, internet access and music now commonplace on basic handsets, while smart phones offer even more sophisticated applications such as video.

While some people may feel these are unnecessary add-ons, the results show that in fact these functions are becoming increasingly popular.

In the UK, the most popular daily function is browsing the web at nine per cent, while on a weekly basis it is taking photos (38 per cent of respondents), followed jointly by browsing the web and playing games (22 per cent) and sending a photo or video (18 per cent).

Respondents were also asked about a number of new functions that they might like on their phone.

In all countries, a satellite navigation system was the top choice, with 49 per cent of French, 44 per cent of German, 43 per cent of British and 38 per cent of American respondents choosing that option.

Being able to locate friends, family and children in real time through GPS functionality was the second preference in all markets except for Germany, where concerns over privacy prevailed.

However, it seems that the Japanese system of using the mobile phone handset to pay for public transport is not a popular option - this failed to generate interest everywhere except Germany.

Among the reasons given for rejecting this function included worries about making the phone a target for theft, concerns about cost, and fears of giving too much data to the phone company.

David Day, chief executive officer of Lightspeed Research, said: 'There is no question that the mobile phone is an important tool for daily life for many of the people we surveyed, and that many people use the additional phone applications such as photos, video, music and the internet.

'However, when we look at take-up of some of the current functions, as well as those we may have in the future, consumers do express some concerns.

'There is real fear around data security and the increased risk of theft and this is something the industry as a whole will need to address to encourage consumers to try new functionality such as mobile commerce.

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