Subscribers looking to trim mobile spending

Mobile subscribers worldwide are putting off plans to upgrade or buy new handsets in the face of economic crisis according to a new consumer poll conducted by mobile applications portal GetJar. While GetJar reports 78 percent of subscribers are delaying plans to acquire new phones, 76 percent are preparing to reduce the amount they spend on phone usage: Among consumers who have already begun cutting costs within the past 12, one third cited the economy, 20 percent altered their usage habits to lower expenses, and 28 percent switched over to free applications to avoid charges.

GetJar notes that text messaging currently accounts for the largest percentage of mobile services spending--35 percent of respondents cited SMS as their biggest monthly expense, with 18.5 percent pointing to voice services and roughly 17 percent identifying data services. On a positive note, close to 70 percent of respondents said their data charges are predictable.

For more on the GetJar study:
- read this release

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