A new survey of US consumers from Bamboo MediaCasting, Inc. indicates that the mobile media industry still needs to resolve a few nagging
problems matters like image quality,
bandwidth limitations and the overall consumer experience.
In association with Chicago market researcher Synovate, Bamboo
MediaCasting1,000 online consumers, What do you
think is apt to be the most frustrating part about viewing video on a
cell phone?
According to the Bamboo/Synovate eNation study, conducted in early
March, 51 percent of total respondents expect that mobile video
subscriptions will be too expensive. Among those who did not cite cost,
45.5 percent anticipate that image quality will be poor; 27 percent
expect speed will be an issue that is, they
expect that content will be slow to load; 17 percent say the process
will be too complex too many steps will be
involved to make things work; and 10 percent anticipate that content
choices will be limited.
"Mobile media technology has clearly come a
long way in a very short time, but as these findings suggest, we as an
industry need to ensure that consumers have a quality experience every
step of the way," said Guy Morag, CEO of
Bamboo MediaCasting. "The mobile platform is
unique - it's not TV
and it's not the PC. Carriers and service
providers stand to benefit, the closer we all come to providing
solutions that don't involve unacceptable
compromises."
Driven by anticipated 3G network adoption and broad consumer interest,
the number of mobile content subscribers is expected to grow to 462
million worldwide over the next five years, according to ABI Research.
IDC, meanwhile, has estimated the U.S. audience for mobile video at 25
million+ by 2011, while Juniper Research projects mobile entertainment
revenues to jump from $20 billion to $65 billion over the same period.
Survey Findings at a Glance
The data below applies to that portion of the sample that did not cite
cost as the main source of frustration:
-
Who's Image Conscious? Women are
more likely than men to have concerns with image quality (48 percent
to 43 percent), and slightly more inclined to have issues with speed
(29 percent to 25 percent). Men are markedly more concerned than women
about limited content choices (13 percent to 7 percent). -
Youth in a Hurry. Perhaps conditioned by encounters with grainy
screens in various guises, the youngest demographic -
those ages 18-14 - were substantially less
concerned about image quality (21 percent) than all other age groups.
That same demographic has far less patience for slow image loading; 45
percent cited speed as the biggest frustration with mobile video. -
Patience Comes with Age... Nearly 50 percent of those over 35
ranked image quality their top concern - in
most cases by a 12 to 15 point margin. Indeed, the older you are, the
less frustrated you're likely to be with
slow image loading: while 36 percent of those 35-44 cited speed as
their top concern, that frustration diminishes significantly for those
45-54 (23 percent), those 55-64 (19 percent) and those over 65 (10
percent). -
... But Not Necessarily with
Parenthood. Among households without children, nearly half ranked
image quality as the top frustration (49.5 percent), against 39
percent with kids. That situation is reversed when the subject shifts
to speed; there, sluggish loading was a top concern among 34 percent
of households with children, but just 23 percent of those without. -
Regionally, Reception Varies. Image quality is a relatively
bigger deal in the Northeast (53 percent), and relatively less of a
frustration in the South (41 percent). Those in the Northeast are,
however, less concerned about loading speeds (22 percent) than
consumers elsewhere in the country. -
Deciphering the Device. Having a kid in the house also appears
to help tame technology; just 12 percent of households with children
expressed frustration with the complexity of mobile video, against 21
percent of those without kids. For those with a high school education
or less, the steps involved in viewing mobile video loom as a greater
source of frustration than they do for those with college or
post-graduate training (26 percent to 15 percent). -
Type A's Want Clarity. Those
employed full-time - arguably, the busiest
among the various employment group breakdowns -
are relatively more frustrated by bad image quality (49 percent) and
sluggish image loading (30 percent) than those who work part-time, are
self-employed, unemployed or retired.