One in 10 subscribers used location services in Q4

One in 10 U.S. mobile subscribers turned to location-based services such as maps and friend finders in the fourth quarter of 2008 according to a new study released by mobile social network Limbo and market research agency GfK Technology. The report states LBS adoption is highest among the 25-to-34 age group, with 22 percent penetration; in addition, iPhone users are more than twice as likely as other wireless subscribers to browse the mobile web and more than three times more likely to use a location-based service or a location-based social network. While 33 percent of total U.S. mobile subscribers recall seeing mobile ads during Q4, that number increases to 41 percent among iPhone users--Limbo notes that about twice as many of these ads were viewed in the context of SMS text messages than as mobile web ads, the second most common format.

Limbo and GfK add that while significantly fewer consumers see other types of mobile advertising, iPhone owners over-index regardless of format--they are twice as likely to see mobile web ads, and four times as likely to see an ad while playing a mobile game or using a location-based service. In all, one in three consumers that recalls seeing a mobile ad responded in some way, compared to one in two among iPhone users--calling a toll free phone number published in the ads is the most common means of response, with iPhone users calling twice as frequently as other mobile subscribers. One in seven consumers reported purchasing a product or visiting a store as a result of seeing a mobile advertisement--among iPhone users, the number rises to one in four. And while men and women are equally likely to recall mobile advertising, women are 85 percent more likely to respond to ads.

For more on the Limbo/GfK study:
- read this release

Related articles:
Location-based ads top mobile marketing opportunities
Location, location, location