FC NOW: The Fast Company Weblog
March 27, 2007
So How Do You Actually Use Your Cellphone?
In the past few years cell phone manufacturers have dazzled us with an amazing array of features. Basic games and simple text messaging are now passé. Cameras were once considered a big deal. Now, the latest models come with music players and Internet access. Two percent of subscribers watch television on their phones and we are witnessing the first moves to create programming specifically for cellphones.
Ask anyone in the mobile phone industry and you will get one answer: It's almost impossible to tell which features are more popular among consumers. Manufacturers, operators, advertisers, and software manufacturers -- no one has a precise answer. At best they are guesstimates.
Today's International Herald Tribune features an interesting story about a company that aims to track what consumers are doing with their cellphones. Seattle-based M:Metrics has come up with MeterDirect, to monitor cellphone usage throughout the day. MeterDirect is downloaded on the phone and sends back usage patterns once a day. It will monitor how much time consumers spend talking, texting, gaming, surfing the Internet and so on.
While the company plans to launch the MeterDirect service only in the U.S. and Britain, it also has a MobiLens service that collects data on mobile phone usage (voice only).
Such data collection could be crucial for both operators and advertisers, and will assist with mobile advertising taking off. It remains to be seen how reliable this data proves to be. Users will be paid a fee in exchange for participating, and past experience, even with measuring television viewing at home, has shown this is not the best way to go about it. Still, it’s a start and one that could prove invaluable to advertisers, operators, and manufacturers alike.
Posted by Samar Srivastava at March 27, 2007 12:45 PM | Category: internet + web |
8 Comments
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Phone calls. Period.
Okay, so I got one of the does-it-all phones a few months ago, thought it was pretty slick, and had a good time with the (totally low res) camera and the music feature for a few weeks. Now? I'm with Frank. Phone calls. Period.
Cell phones are another example where design and function is not considered.
Can anyone say "TV remote control"? Out of control!
Next time you're in a public place listen to most of the conversations of people on cell phones - blah blah blah. Not music, not text messaging, not taking pictures. Just ordering pizza, calling around seeing who is at their desk, etc.
I use my phone to talk.
I use my phone to talk and I use it as a flashlight, when I trying to find where to put my key into, lol :)
I use my phone for text, to check my gmail, to route myself around unfamiliar territories (Google Maps add on) to find restaurants (MSN Local search add on) and to listen to MP3s. Oh, I also blog photos directly from my phone. One in awhile I'll talk into it.
I have a razr and I mostly talk and text when talking is not possible. My company has banned all personal e-mail on their pc's so I have added e-mail to the phone and it is great to read but a pain to send more than a line or two.
If I use the camera it is to take a picture of a product or brand name while I am out so I can find it cheaper online... Easier than writing it down...
Methods for designing products that meet user needs have been known for decades, they havent just been really used yet.
I use my cellphone just to go on mixit,its fun and cheeper to chat to friends. If i go out i leaf it at home,if i dont my Moter call just to ask where i am.......