STATS PACK: Chinese Mobile Search Set To Explode; Indian Mobile Content Figures Aplenty; Keep On Tracking; German AOL Users Warm To Mobile Ads » mobilegroove

MOBILE SEARCH: Good reason for mobile search providers to focus efforts on the Chinese market (and maybe part of the reason search giants Google & Co have done exactly that!) This new report from iResearch China estimates China will have an estimated 61 million mobile search engine users by end-2007. The figure is set to double in 2008 to 117 million and then skyrocket in 2010 to 200 million.MOBILE CONTENT INDIA: The mobile content market in India is forecast to explode according to figures released in a report from Boston Analytics. The ‘Study of the MVAS (mobile value added services) Market in India’ report forecasts a 50 percent compound annual growth rate in the MVAS industry for the next two years. The rather conservative report assumes a subscriber base of 100 million and a favourable regulatory environment, so the market could produce even better results for the content companies that get in on the ground floor. And content providers take note – keeping content relevant and personal is critical to reach users in a market with 5 different languages and 20 regional dialects.

MORE MOBILE INDIA CONTENT: These stats in via an email direct from the source. Stamford BDA have released a report entitled the ‘Future of Mobile VAS in India.’ Deep-diving into this report gives the stat-hungry amongst us plenty more Indian figures to chew on.

Some of the highlights include:

· Despite continued record growth over last 12 months, only 23 percent of 1.1 billion population owns a phone

· Prepaid users comprise over 85 percent of total subs and over 95 percent of net new additions, further adding to the impact of tariffs on falling ARPU

· VAS services contribute approx 7 percent of total wireless telecom revenues for Indian operators

· Most VAS services are provided over SMS, IVR and WAP. Revenue growth has been driven by SMS (including P2P, A2P, P2A), contributing over 55 percent of total VAS revenues in 2006

The Indian mobile content market is still in a nascent phase, but if operators and content providers can deliver services that reflect the interests of users in local markets – as well as national treasures like Bollywood and cricket – then the revenue potential can match the staggering growth in this market.

LBS TRACKING REVENUES: Driven by the need to improve business efficiency and concerns over personal safety, the LBS tracking market is poised for significant growth, according to figures published in Juniper Research’s Tracking & Navigation LBS report this week. Revenues from wireless tracking services in Western Europe are expected to top 3.3 billion euro by 2012, mainly attributable to the 21 million phones that will be tracked in 2012. There are certain market segments that will always have ‘Big Brother’ fears about LBS and in particular tracking services, but, as GPS handset penetration increases and LBS makes the mainstream, the market potential will grow. User perception of the benefits that child/granny tracking functionality delivers far outweigh concerns about a loss of subscriber privacy.

GERMAN AD SURVEY: German AOL users are warming to mobile advertising, according to a study from AOL Digital Marketing Group (DMG). The German-language survey of 684 AOL users reveals over half of regularly surf the mobile Internet with their phones.

Among other findings:

• 42 percent have been impressed by mobile advertising and 61 percent have clicked on an ad
• 25 percent of users access the mobile Internet more than once a week
• 34 percent access the mobile Internet to find information, 14 percent surf 6 browse, 8 percent go online with a particular destination in mind

Text links are the most popular among users, probably because they can appear on makes and models of devices. Users are split on banners, with almost half of users saying it just doesn’t grab them.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 12th, 2007 at 6:15 pm and is filed under Location-Based Services, Mobile Marketing, Mobile Search. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.