New research from The NPD Group revealed that nearly half (45 percent) of mobile phone users in the U.S. use their cell phones to place calls, and are not taking full advantage of their phone's multimedia features.

 

The market researcher for the wireless industry also found that only 20 percent of mobile phone users use their cell phones as an all-in-one multimedia device for music, videos, surfing the Web and other activities beyond making phone calls.

 

NPD’s report, entitled, “Mobile Phone Usage Report,” showed that among the top wireless carriers, Verizon (News - Alert) Wireless customers are the least likely to use their phone as an all-in-one multimedia device.

 

Even though most U.S. mobile users know they can use their phones for text messaging and to change ringtones and the background display, the report found that 34 percent of respondents did not know whether their current phone’s memory could be expanded. In addition, 28 percent claimed they did not know if they could watch videos on their mobile phones, and 12 percent did not know if they could access the Internet via Wi-Fi.

 

Also, 23 percent were unsure if their phone had GPS, while 21 percent did not know if their handsets would play music.

 

According to NPD, the adoption of advanced handset features shows a gap between the usage of these features and the increasing amount of devices supporting these features. The company’s monthly Mobile Phone Track service showed that 71 percent of all handsets bought by consumers in the U.S. were capable of playing video, 60 percent had expandable memory, and 55 percent featured GPS technology.

 

“Increasingly consumers are purchasing phones with advanced capabilities that go far beyond voice calling, but only those who take advantage of these features offer the best revenue potential for operator,” explained Ross Rubin (News - Alert), director of industry analysis for NPD. “Operators and other handset retailers have an opportunity to educate customers as to the capabilities of their handsets in the wake of slower overall handset sales.”

 

The information in the “Mobile Phone Usage Report” is based on an NPD online survey to pre-identified U.S. mobile phone owners aged 13 and older, which was fielded in August 2008. NPD Group’s (News - Alert) Mobile Phone Track information service gathers and analyzes mobile device sales data based on more than 150,000 completed online consumer research surveys each month. Results are projected to represent the entire population of U.S. consumers.

 

The NPD Group delivers reliable and comprehensive consumer and retail information for a wide range of industries. Today, more than 1,600 manufacturers, retailers, and service companies depend on NPD to help them drive critical business decisions at the global, national, and local market levels. The company helps its clients find new business opportunities and guides them with product development, marketing, sales, merchandising, and other functions.