Only 13 percent of consumers use their cell phones more than 1000 minutes per month — 68 percent of users say camera is favorite cell phone feature
Although consumer use of cell phones is at an all-time high, a new Wirefly.com survey indicates that only 13 percent of consumers use their cell phone more than an average of 30 minutes per day.
Wirefly surveyed 2,011 U.S.-based cell phone users, age 18 and older, and found:
- 46 percent use their cell phone 500 minutes a month or less;
- 32 percent use their cell phone between 500 and 1000 minutes per month;
- 13 percent said they use their cell phone more than 1000 minutes each month.
The same survey revealed that 68 percent of users say the camera is their favorite cell phone feature — beating out built-in MP3 players, GPS systems or TV functionality. In addition, 17 percent of users take more than 15 pictures each month.
The Wirefly.com survey revealed:
- 63 percent of users take 1-15 pictures per month;
- 17 percent of users take more than 15 pictures per month;
- 14 percent of users don’t take pictures at all.
The growing popularity of wireless email and text messaging has resulted in some consumers using their cell phones and PDAs more frequently, but for shorter talk durations, and that may be reflected in the survey’s findings,” said Brian Westrick, Wirefly’s President. “However people use their cell phones, more and more consumers are using Wirefly.com as a free, easy-to-use tool to help them find the right phone and the right calling plan — at the guaranteed best price.”
Free of charge and without any commitment, Wirefly.com’s Wireless Wizard allows users to compare prices and plans from every cell phone manufacturer and wireless carrier in every U.S. zip code. A few simple key strokes enables users to confirm whether they are getting the best deal available, the best coverage in their area or if they could achieve a greater savings with another plan.
About the Survey
The U.S. based online survey was conducted from October 13, 2006 to October 31, 2006 from a pool of individuals who had purchased new cell phones and new service plans from Wirefly.com. The sample of 2011 respondents was 54% female and 46% male. 38% of respondents were between the ages of 31-44, 33% were 45 and above, 18% were between the ages of 25-30, and 12% were 18-24. The margin of error was plus or minus 2 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.
About Wirefly
Launched in 2003, Wirefly is an online leader in one-stop comparison shopping for cell phones, wireless service plans and wireless accessories. A wholly-owned subsidiary of InPhonic, Inc. (NASDAQ:INPC), Wirefly is an authorized dealer for every major cellular carrier, including Cingular Wireless, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile and Sprint. Wirefly also offers discounts and services not available in retail wireless stores, including real-time online order status and tracking, and the guaranteed lowest price – online or anywhere else — on cell phone devices from Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, LG, BlackBerry and many other cell phone handset manufacturers. Wirefly.com has been named Best of the Web by Forbes magazine as the “best all-around number portability portal” and “Best in Overall Customer Experience” by Keynote Performance Systems.
