Although the US seems to be at the forefront
of technology innovation and adoption, a recent study showed it is still far
behind other countries in terms of how cell phones are utilized by its citizens.
With areas like Silicon Valley being cell phone technology powerhouses, it is
surprising to hear the country is far behind in terms of how cell phones are
integrated into our lives.
A survey was conducted with 4100 cell users
in 16 countries including the United States, Germany, China as well as
developing countries. The goal was to shed light on how cell phone users
differed in their usage of their phones.
Much of the results were surprising in comparison
to the massive growth the US cell phone market has seen in the past ten years.
The US finished last in usage of simple mobile services like texting and
instant messaging with only one in three respondents using either of the
services. This is low in relation to China, where nine out of ten use texting.
Experts attribute the results to text messaging not being marketed as widely
during its market introduction in the US as it is in other countries. Other
countries depend on these services due to a lack in infrastructure, thereby
creating a need for such services to be mobile. Many of these countries still
need features that are readily available in the US.
One feature people in all countries want is
more voip service options, with half of respondents asking for it. The demand shows
the growing trend of voip in the world economy. In addition, another feature
surveyors asked for was mobile banking, which reflects the demand for such
services in developing nations.
This survey shows a surprising trend that
although the US is busy developing new cell phones chock full of interesting
features to make our lives easier, it isn’t adopting them as widely as other
countries are. While this can be contributed to an extensive infrastructure in
place in the US, it is something that may reflect our cultural tendencies as
well. Many may just be using their cell phone for the basics, like making
calls.
Zack is a
writer based in San Diego, California. He writes extensively for an online
resource that provides expert advice on purchasing and outsourcing decisions
for small business owners and entrepreneurs such as phone systems & residential voip
service at Resource Nation.
