Nearly half of 10 to 18 year olds in the US own mobile phones, according to global market research group NOP World Technology.
The mKids Study analysed mobile phone ownership within the 10 to 18 year old age group and found that penetration among 12 to 14 year olds had increased to 40% in December 2004, up from 13% in February 2002.
The research also revealed that 73% of 18 year olds own mobile phones, a 15% rise on 2002. Elsewhere, 75% of 15 to 17 year olds were shown to carry mobile phones, an increase of 33% percentage points from 42% in 2002.
The study indicates that 10 to 18 year olds are fairly loyal, with 77% still using their first network provider, and only 11% planning to switch in the next month.
Among users who switched providers, 20% gave their reason as seeking ‘better reception’, 19% claimed that lower costs drove their decision, while 19% said that ‘persuasion from parents’ drove their decision.
The majority of people polled, 71%, were interested in multi-function mobile phones, wanting phones that convert to MP3 players, while 70% were interested in phones that could double as digital cameras.
A recent study by mobile market measurement company, M:Metrics, found that almost 60% of US mobile subscribers used their mobiles for non-voice functions, with text messaging being the most popular application (see Multi Use Of Mobile Handsets).
Mobile internet functions, such as mobile email and accessing the news via a web browser were only used by 14% of respondents.
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