Must Read: Mobile Trends

Steve Icon

Some useful new data.

A few things stand out here:

  • Teens are text messaging like crazy.
  • This level of texting makes me think that it’s so close to actual chat, that mobile “chat” is going to become bigger.  Or normalized.  I do know at least one person who refuses to text and uses Google Chat.  Developers, keep this in mind – and social media companies may want to move towards mobile chat (also, keep that in mind).
  • Phones are beng used less for actual phone calls.  This is a trend that reminds me of how cable companies became ISPs.  At this rate mobile phone companies are really “mobile” companies.  Keep that in mind for the future – and for regulation.
  • There’s an impressive generation gap here in text and phone usage.  How are we going to market and to whom?
Mobile is becoming mobile period, and the generation gap is impressive.

- Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach for professional and potentially professional geeks, fans, and otaku. He can be reached at http://www.stevensavage.com/

  • Scott D

    We’re going to see demands by consumers to get texting rates reduced/removed at this rate.  I prefer email – I can get a lot of information sent and follow up point by point in an easily read manner.  Texting can do similar – get a lot of information sent without the filler “er”s, “um”s, and “ah”s.

    And if texting is more expensive than data rates, then online chatting makes far more sense and the only people who get hurt are the companies overcharging.

    Up here, the big two in TV, phone, and Internet are Bell (started as a phone company) and Rogers (evil cable company).  At this point, phone, Internet, cable are all data services.

  • http://www.genjipress.com/ Serdar (GenjiPress)

    I just wrote a piece about how the collapse of voice services for non-business customers is forcing the rise of data-centric plans — which unfortunately are priced to line the telco’s pockets rather aggressively. See 
    http://www.thechampioncommunity.com/author.asp?section_id=1854&doc_id=245711&