Users cite cost concerns in avoiding travel apps

While 79 percent of U.S. vacationers say they will pack a mobile phone for their summer travels, more than half eschew mobile travel applications due to cost concerns according to a new study commissioned by Sprint Nextel and conducted by Harris Interactive. Sprint notes that 35 percent of males ages 18 to 34 and 24 percent of women in the same age range already use at least some travel applications, but 56 percent of vacationers say available travel apps are too expensive to use--even so, 89 percent of young adults said they would ideally like to have mobile access to services including social media websites (34 percent), games (19 percent) and restaurant guides (51 percent) while away from home.

The Sprint/Harris survey also reports that 37 percent of men misrepresent their accessibility to email and their wireless phone while on vacation--nevertheless, 77 percent of adults ages 18 to 34 are likely to check their email while on the road, compared to 61 percent of respondents 55 and older, and 31 percent of adults describe their email checking personality as "compulsive or frequent." Sixty-seven percent of all adults rely on the mobile devices to keep in touch with family members who are not traveling with them.

For more on the Sprint survey:
- read this release