Thanks to drastic advances in mobile handset technology, today’s cellular phones are very capable machines. A few short years ago, our phones only had a few functions, mainly consisting of making/receiving calls and sending SMS messages.

However, with the advent of the camera phone and subsequent advances, our mobile handsets pack a whopping amount of hardware and functionality. For example, the Nokia NSeries handsets feature 5MP cameras, on-board GPS, FM Transmitters, email and much, much more.

Even today’s more inexpensive feature phones carry on them 1 or 2 megapixel cameras capable of sending MMS messages and so forth. But, in my experience, many mobile phone users don’t use these advanced features because they are too hard to work with. This is part of the reason the iPhone is such a game changer, as it altered user behavior by creating a better user experience when accessing these advanced hardware features.

The Ease-of-Use Factor

Adding to this, the usage figures of iPhone users show they consume these advanced services more frequently than phone users on other platforms. A Financial Times article reports that iPhone users consume more mobile data because surfing the web on Apple’s mobile handset is so simple and enjoyable.  It’s a fact: iPhone users snap more photos, send more emails and text messages and this pattern doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon.

The Youth Factor

mocoNews recently reported that, in the U.S., T-Mobile will soon refresh the very-popular Sidekick product.  The Sidekick is a handset that features a slide-out screen that reveals a full QWERTY keyboard.  This particular handset is especially popular with teenagers and college students here in the United States.

However, the way these young users utilize their Sidekicks is astounding.  Here are some usage statistics that show Sidekick users:

• Send and receive 3,000 instant-messages a month
• Send and receive 600 text messages a month
• View more than 450 web pages a month
• Two-thirds of all traffic through the Sidekick browser goes to social networking sites

This handset, when combined with its 3.2 megapixel camera and built-in social networking software, is a connected teenager’s dream phone!  It goes to show that the Sidekick user base is a mobile-data hungry crowd that loves to use their handsets to the fullest.

However, in your opinion – what other factors drive advanced mobile feature usage?  I look forward to seeing your thoughts in the comments section below.

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 18th, 2009 at 2:55 pm and is filed under Community and social networks, Mobile devices. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.