We’ve gone nuts with our Smartphones

Since the inception of iPhone, we have been increasingly tapping into the advanced features of our smartphones, according to a new report released by Compete as part of its Quarterly Smartphone Intelligence Survey.

I think part of the reason behind such phenomena is a result of the improvement of the wireless network platforms that carry the data and voice connections, particularly the evolution of 3G  and now 4G technology that promises to increase both the speed at which data can be transferred and the amount of information that can be handled per cell site.

This is also fueled in part by a new generation of powerful and popular smart phones which are loosely defined as mobile devices offering more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a basic feature phone.

The survey further shows:

- During the first quarter of this year nearly one in three smartphone owners has called or stopped into a local business after discovering the information using a local search application on their mobile device.

-  Close to one-third of consumers with either an iPhone, Android or other smartphones “discovered at least two new businesses that they were not previously aware of as a result of using local search applications.

- A growing number of consumers are turning to their mobile devices to stay in touch with their social networks. The company noted that 33% of Twitter users with a smartphone primarily send tweets from their mobile device and that a similar percent prefer to read others’ tweets on their phone.

- Consumers that access their Facebook accounts from their mobile device, 66% also read news feeds, 60% post status updates, 59% read or reply to private messages and 44% post photos from their smartphone.

- 51% of iPhone users have at least five games loaded onto their device, and that they play games more frequently that do owners of other smartphones with 37% of iPhone users reporting they play games at least daily on their device. Consumers with Blackberry devices are at the other extreme with 46% of Blackberry users surveyed saying they have no games on their device.

Given the increasing popularity of local search, I strongly urge the retailers to ensure their sites are optimized for mobile browsers or else they will end up closing shops. They need to make it as easy as possible for consumers to discover businesses via their devices. That will open up to a whole new customer demographic.

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