WAP Usage Growing As User Choice Increases
The number of WAP pages being viewed by mobile phone users is on the increase, with the total for June seeing a considerable increase of 42% year on year, according to the latest figures released by the Mobile Data Association.
A Total of 4 billion WAP pages were viewed during the second quarter of 2004, traditionally a quieter time as holiday makers leave the country or enjoy longer days visiting attractions in Britain.
However, the total from mobile network operators O2, Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone, shows figures have climbed from 784 million WAP page impressions viewed in the UK during June 2003 to 1.11 billion in June 2004.
The increased usage of mobile internet services is being attributed to more services being offered to consumers, both at home and abroad, with a variety of holiday and flight information services, motorway travel guides, bus and train information and route planning services appealing to users while out and about, away from their computers.
Allowing for seasonal differences, the MDA forecasts continued growth with WAP page impressions, with the total number of impression expected to reach 13 billion for 2004.
In addition to a growth in WAP usage, the number of text messages sent in June reached staggering proportions, with a record 2.10 billion individual sent messages during the month (see Another Record Text Messaging Month In June).
The MDA recently revealed that 16.5 million people in the UK are now able to send and receive photo messages and e-mail via their mobile phones, a trend that is growing as more users upgrade to the latest handsets. However, those with cutting-edge mobiles are still in a minority, representing only 34.7% of the total 47.5 million mobile devices in the UK (see More Than 16.5 Million Now Use Photo Messaging).
Mobile Data Association: 01922 419600 www.mda-mobiledata.org
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