European 3G phone owners text message much more than 2G phone owners despite having access to mobile IM
Posted by andy, February 8th, 2006
From 160 Characters:
A study by M:Metrics of owners of 3G phones in the UK and Germany has found that although unsurprisingly they consume more mobile multimedia, they also send significantly SMS more than 2G phone owners, in spite of a higher use of mobile IM as well.
The use cases for text messaging and group text messaging are fundamentally different than the use case behind IM (mobile or otherwise). And I’d argue it’s also much easier to use than IM. SMS works on virtually any phone without having to sign up or sign in. You don’t have to worry about having software configured on your phone and whether your friends have the software installed or are on the right network on their phone.
Moreover, text messaging is inherently mobile and done in the moment and while you are doing other things. It is not at all clear that the kind of conversations that I have sitting sedentary behind my computer or while I’m watching TV are the same conversations I want to have when I’m on the go. And I’m not sure whether I want to peer into a network of friends having a conversation with full keyboards typing 100 wpm…it may actually be in my best interest in a group text chat conversation to have text entry via T9 or a Sidekick-like device because it puts everyone on a level playing field and won’t overwhelm me.
You must be logged in to post a comment.