SMS has proven an enormous success ever since it started to show its
first signs of traction in the early 1990s. So much so that next year,
according to ABI Research estimates, more than seven trillion SMS
messages will be sent worldwide, from nearly 4.2 billion mobile
subscriptions. Messaging is also more prevalent among younger
subscribers, and as they replace older subscribers, messaging will get a
further boost.
As our readers know, college students text during all kinds of activities. They don't just text while driving, but also during bicycling, showering and sex.
Messaging includes four types of communication: SMS, MMS, mobile email,
and Instant Messaging. SMS is being increasingly regarded as something
of a commodity by users, due to falling delivery costs and high
competition. According to industry analyst Aapo Markkanen, "When these
trends towards commoditization are combined with the wider adoption of
mobile email and IM services, the revenue proportion of SMS and MMS
against the market total is expected to decline."
Email has the advantage of familiarity for many consumers, and, says
Markkanen, "Due to relatively low PC penetration in emerging regions,
for many consumers across Latin America, Africa, and south Asia mobile
devices will provide the primary screen for accessing email. This won't
be restricted to smartphones: many companies are developing solutions to
allow more basic handsets to handle email."
Messaging is increasingly a tool for the enterprise as well as for
individuals. Practice director Neil Strother notes that, "Mobile
messaging has distinct advantages for companies communicating with their
customers. It is universal, cost-effective and reliable, and most people
have their phones with them and switched on most of the time."
However, the rate of mobile phone adoption will gradually
decline over the next five years, and growth in numbers of new customers
starting to use messaging will likewise slow gradually.
ABI Research believes that the future of mobile messaging will
increasingly be in unified toolkits that mash up and converge text and
multimedia messages, IM chats, emails and voicemails.