Almost 90 Percent Of Mobile Users Are Likely To Use Location-Based Apps For Holiday Shopping

The mobile audience will be increasingly seeking location media this holiday season, according to a new report. Nearly 90 percent of people are likely to use location-based services in the next several weeks for holiday planning and activities.

When searching for local content, 61 percent say that finding store locations is the most valuable feature of location-based media.

Additional key findings around location trends include:

--  89 percent will likely use location-based apps and services during the holiday shopping season
--  36 percent plan to find product reviews
--  33 percent plan to discover current inventory at nearby stores
--  26 percent plan to connect with social networks through location-based features
--  62 percent have used "find a store location" features within an ad
--  On average, 30 percent are willing to travel more than five miles to redeem a mobile coupon
--  21 percent have redeemed mobile coupons in the past 90 days
--  49 percent of the On-The-Go Audience is open to checking-in on mobile apps, with 29 percent looking for deals and 17 percent simply wanting to share location

The data shows that mobile users are willing to travel more than five miles to redeem mobile promotions, especially for entertainment, retail or restaurants. This fact demonstrates that marketers can attract more customers by extending the range of their location campaigns beyond the basic storefront check-in to include the entire city.

Comment from David Staas, senior vice president of marketing at JiWire: It's becoming clear that there is a huge opportunity with location, well beyond the check-in. Consumers are demanding a wealth of location information that spreads across branding, product detail and discounts, allowing brands to build bigger campaign strategies. This is great news as we head into 2011 -- unlocking big brand budgets and even more opportunity in location-based media.

The proliferation of Wi-Fi and the impressive growth of mobile apps have been driven by the demands of mobile consumers, especially by the business traveler. Their need to stay connected while out of the office leads 88 percent to actively seek Wi-Fi while traveling. Additionally, 68 percent consider mobile apps very important in making their lives easier while on the go, with more than 50 percent regularly using apps in public Wi-Fi locations. The most popular mobile apps, most of which are location-based, include travel, weather, news and social networking -- The Weather Channel and Facebook apps topped the chart.

Accounting for nearly 7 percent of mobile ad requests, Android continues to grow. Three new Android phones launched in the top 10 mobile devices in Q3, shifting market share from Apple but also changing the position of other devices on the market. While Android OS has seen 3.3 percent growth this quarter, the only device that has remained a top mobile device is the Motorola Droid, rising as the fourth most popular device. The iPad's market share increased 16.3 percent this quarter, while the iPhone and iPod declined.

In the U.K., Android devices are growing much faster, with 12.8 percent market share with devices such as the HTC Desire, Wildfire, Magic and Hero. Apple still holds the top three spots with 82.1 percent of the market share. Mobile device connections make up 18.2 percent of the total connections. JiWire recently launched its presence in Europe with an office in the U.K. and a new partnership with British Telecom, expanding its Wi-Fi media channel.

Wi-Fi usage in the U.S. continues to grow, with an 18.4 percent increase in Q3 alone, as well as continued increase in the number of hotspots. Cafes saw impressive growth of free venues with a 36.9 percent increase, as stores, such as Starbucks, switched from paid to free Wi-Fi. Also in the U.S., Brooklyn and the Bronx, which each increased more than 100 percent, took over the first and second spots as the top Wi-Fi usage cities. This sent New York City and San Francisco to third and fourth place. This change is due to Comcast Xfinity increasing its Wi-Fi network on the East Coast, as well as a general increase in Wi-Fi enabled mobile devices.

About the report: JiWire's Mobile Audience Insights Report JiWire's sixth Mobile Audience Insights Report is based on data from approximately 315,000 public Wi-Fi locations, as well as a survey of 1,200 customers randomly selected across JiWire's Wi-Fi Media Channel from July 2010 - September 2010. JiWire serves advertisements to over 30,000 public Wi-Fi locations in North America and records data from every ad request. This report is based on the ad request data collected from July 2010 - September 2010. Quarterly public Wi-Fi location rankings and business model distributions are based on the final day of the quarter.

Contact: http://www.JiWire.com

iPhones Preferred In Law Offices

iPhones are the primary device of choice among 50.3 percent of respondents in law offices, according to a survey, which also found that 27.3 percent use BlackBerrys; 9.8 percent use Android-based devices; 2.3 percent use Palm devices.

Twenty-seven percent of respondents plan on switching their primary mobile device in the next year. Of those planning to switch devices, 65 percent plan on switching to an iPhone; 21 percent plan on switching to an Android device; only 7 percent plan on switching to BlackBerry.

About the survey: All legal professionals and law students from any law firm or law school were invited to participate in the survey, regardless of size and location. The survey aimed to determine to what extent lawyers and law students are now using Apple and Mac products, and whether there is clear evidence of an increasing trend of the legal industry "going Mac" in the future. Total respondents were 835.

Contact: http://www.goclio.com

Erosion Expected In RIM's Enterprise Smartphone Market Share, But BlackBerry Will Claim Top Spot in 2015

Global smartphone shipments to mobile business customers will to grow at a CAGR of 15 percent, according to new research. The mobile business customer smartphone installed base will exceed 30 percent worldwide; in North America, it will exceed 65 percent.

But behind these numbers will be a hyper-competitive marketplace defined by the operating system.

Comment from ABI Research enterprise practice director Dan Shey: With the iPhone and now Android, business customers simply have more choices. While each region will have a different set of competitive dynamics, within a few years regional installed base market shares of 50 percent+ will be a thing of the past.Security, applications, and device management capabilities will be key determinants of success for each platform -- but not necessarily in that order.

Relevant worldwide and regional installed base statistics from the analysis include:

-- North America: BlackBerry will maintain its leadership position but Apple and Android will gain a solid presence. If Verizon launches the iPhone, iOS market share will grow even more.

-- Western Europe: Android's share will grow the most as Windows' share slips.

-- Latin America: Installed base share will shift from a customer base using mainly Windows to one shared nearly equally by Windows, Symbian and BlackBerry.

-- Asia Pacific: Symbian's market share will drop significantly but Symbian will still maintain its lead; Android will reach the number two position.

About the study: ABI Research's "Enterprise Smartphones" study provides an in-depth view of the smartphone ecosystem driving growth of these devices among mobile business customers. Analysis reviews the features most valuable to business customers on a platform-by-platform basis. This analysis is quantified at the regional level providing a market share analysis of shipments and installed base for enterprise customers. Shipments and installed base are also determined for industry verticals and for four sizes of business for the Asia Pacific, North American and Western European markets.

Contact: http://www.abiresearch.com/research/1005776