Action Engine Releases Results of Worldwide Mobile Usability Study: ‘Ease of Use’ Key to Uptake of Mobile Data Services
MEX, London – September 6, 2005 – Shattering the mobile usability barrier, Action Engine® Corporation, the mobile application platform leader, today announced that it has released the findings from the Action Engine Worldwide Mobile Usability Study, its first annual worldwide study on the usability of mobile data services and application delivery. The study included participants who were located in various countries throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific region.
The survey questions were developed from the usability criteria defined in “The 7 Rules of Mobile Data User Experienceâ? written by wireless industry expert, Elliott Drucker. Since 1998, Drucker has been featured regularly in the publication Wireless Week and is considered to be a leading authority on wireless usability and network design.
Through the results of this survey several key conclusions can be found about the mobile user experience with wireless data services and applications:
Usability is the #1 Purchasing Influencer: When asked which factor most influenced their purchasing decision, 59% of respondents cited âEase of use/Positive user reviewsâ as their most important buying criteria, exceeding âValue for Price.â For respondents based in Europe, this percentage rose to 95%, demonstrating the strong impact that usability has on product sales.
Cost and Complexity Prevent Usage: 34% of those surveyed indicated that they are not using mobile applications despite the availability of faster networks and new mobile data services. Of the people who had not used these services, 46% of respondents listed cost as their number one barrier to using data services and 28% listed complexity of use as the second reason they are avoiding new services. Assuming those barriers were reduced, 70% of respondents indicated that they would use mobile applications like news, weather, and sports scores at least 2-5 times a week.
Email is Not the Killer Mobile App: Respondents ranked interest in News, Weather, Travel, Driving Directions, and Mapping applications above Communications applications, like Email and Instant Messenger.
Users Want More Personalization Options: 85% of those surveyed indicated that having mobile applications remember their favorites and preferences was important or very important.
Speed is the Key: Fewer trips to the network and âfast response timesâ were listed as the most important features for respondents who use mobile applications. 76% of respondents indicated that two or less trips to the network would be all that was tolerable when using a mobile application. Respondents also indicated that they would not expect to spend more than 5 minutes online while using a mobile application.
Off-Portal Downloads are the Most Popular Delivery Mechanism: Respondents indicated that the most popular place to purchase a mobile application is from a third-party mobile downloads website rather than the mobile or PC websites of their own service provider/mobile operator. 10% of respondents said that they only use the mobile applications that come preinstalled on their phone. 49% of people said that monthly subscriptions would be their ideal payment method for mobile applications.
âThe results of this study confirm that our companyâs focus on delivering a superior mobile user experience is resonating with the mobile consumer,â? said Scott G. Silk, president and CEO of Action Engine Corporation. âBy eliminating keystrokes and repeat data entry, as well as reducing the number of trips to the network, Action Engine is delivering the type of user experience that our mobile operator customers demand to increase their data services revenues. Applications running on our platform have noticeably reduced subscriber churn, promoting greater consumer loyalty for our mobile operators customers.â?
About Action Engine
Winner of the Fierce 15 of 2005, Action Engine® Corporation, the mobile application platform company, delivers a breakthrough in mobile application usability. The Action Engine Mobile Application Platform⢠introduces a browserless, client/server approach to accessing transaction-oriented online services that takes 80% fewer keystrokes and drives 20x faster response times than browser-based alternatives. The turnkey Brand-n-Go⢠applications pack enables wireless operators to go to market in unprecedented timeframes with intuitive, responsive, and personalized applications that create an addictive user experience. The company’s software has been deployed by a robust list of global wireless operators that include Singtel Optus, Sprint PCS, Orange SA, O2, and SMART Communications, Inc. Additional information is available at +1(425) 498-1500 [Americas/AsiaPac], +44 (0) 1628 509088 [UK/EMEA], info@actionengine.com and www.actionengine.com