Are subscribers really content with mobile content?

Wireless subscribers, a group long dissatisfied with operator service contracts, network coverage and overall call quality, are finally satisfied with at least one facet of the mobile consumer experience. A new study [1] issued by web analytics firm Compete reports 59 percent of subscribers are happy with the devices, services and applications now offered by their mobile operator…which sounds positive at first, but seems at best like a backhanded compliment the more you think about it. It's as if subscribers are in effect putting up their hands and shaking their heads at the prospects of newer services like mobile video and music, content with familiar features like text messaging, photos and ringtones. But here's where it gets even more interesting: According to Compete, those subscribers still seeking an expanded menu of mobile alternatives most commonly requested readily-available applications like GPS and web connectivity, suggesting that perhaps the problem instead lies in carriers' inability to successfully market next-generation data services to their customers.

So while it's tough to figure out exactly what the average subscriber expects from the mobile experience, it's increasingly clear that search is shaping up as an essential element. Another new study [2], this one courtesy of information and media research firm The Nielsen Company, reports that more than 46 million U.S. consumers turned to mobile search services in the third quarter of 2007. According to Nielsen, 411 was the most popular form of mobile search in Q3 with 18.1 million users, with SMS following at 14.1 million users--while 27.1 million users sought out local listings, 14.8 million searched for information like sports scores, news or weather, and 11.3 million queried mobile content. Nielsen also reported some intriguing demographic wrinkles: 61 percent of 411 search users are female, 60 percent of all WAP searchers are male, and SMS-based search skews younger than other methods. In other words, mobile subscribers still may not know exactly what they're looking for, but at least they know where to start looking for it. - Jason [3]

P.S. FierceMobileContent will not publish Monday, January 21 in observance of Martin Luther King Day. See you back here Tuesday.