| INCREASED
AVAILABILITY OF GPS ON MOBILE PHONES DRIVES CONSUMPTION
OF NAVIGATION AND OTHER LOCATION-BASED SERVICES, TELEPHIA
SAYS
Services
Generate More Than Half of all Mobile Application
Revenue
in the U.S.
SAN
FRANCISCO--October 10, 2007--With GPS available
on more new mobile devices, consumer demand for location-based
services (LBS) such as navigation is growing, according
to Telephia, a service of The Nielsen Company, and the
world's largest provider of syndicated consumer research
to the telecom and mobile media markets.
In
its second quarter report on mobile applications, Telephia
also reported that:
- Approximately
13 million mobile consumers downloaded a mobile application
on their phone.
- Of
the $118 million in revenue that downloadable mobile
applications such as LBS, weather applications, chat/community,
and personal organization tools generated during Q2
2007, LBS represented 51 percent.
- Networks
In Motion (NIM)—an LBS navigation publisher for
products including Verizon Wireless' VZ Navigator—secured
a 27 percent share of carrier revenue from mobile
applications and leads all mobile application publishers.
Telenav Mobile followed with a 15 percent share of
carrier revenue and is another LBS navigation publisher.
While
location-based services deliver highly personalized
offerings such as friend-finding and other location-aware
features, navigation represents the lion's share of
revenue. Moreover, favorable carrier deck placement
for LBS applications and the bundling of navigation
services with data packages have contributed to record
high downloads.
"With
consumer awareness increasing, there is enormous potential
for even greater LBS growth, especially since Telephia
research indicates that there are approximately 130
million GPS-capable handsets in the U.S. alone, and
growing," said Doug Antone, president and CEO of
Networks In Motion. "Networks In Motion is committed
to remaining an LBS leader by continuing to create compelling
mobile phone applications that consumers can benefit
from on a daily basis."
LBS
applications command a healthy price premium compared
to other downloadable mobile applications. The average
price per month for an LBS application is $9.23, as
compared to a range of $3.82-$5.41 for weather applications,
sports, wallpapers/pictures, etc. (see Table 1). The
selling price for LBS applications is roughly 180 percent
of industry average. However, overall consumer penetration
for mobile applications hovers around five percent,
as compared to penetration rates of 7-13 percent for
other downloadable content like games, ringtones and
premium SMS.
"There
are hurdles that LBS publishers face, most notably the
relatively low incidence of application downloads when
compared to other mobile data activity. Many consumers
may not realize the utility of a navigation application
on their mobile phone until they use it," said
David Gill, Director of Mobile Media, Telephia. "However,
Nokia's bid to buy NAVTEQ for $8.1 billion is a very
positive sign for the market and validates the strength
and potential of LBS."
Table
1: Average Price Paid by Consumers for Mobile Applications
(U.S.)
Mobile
Application |
Average
Price Paid |
LBS
|
$9.23
|
Weather
|
$3.82
|
Sports
|
$4.58
|
Wallpapers/Pictures
|
$3.29
|
Music
|
$4.99
|
Maps/Directions
|
$3.95
|
Personal
Organization Tools |
$5.41
|
Source:
Telephia Mobile Application Report, Q2 2007
About
Telephia
Telephia,
a service of The Nielsen Company, is the world's largest
provider of syndicated consumer research to the telecom
and mobile media markets. Telephia is your connection
to the digital consumer. Since 1998, executives at service
providers, device manufacturers, content providers,
and retailers have relied on Telephia data to make confident
competitive strategy, marketing and resource allocation
decisions. Telephia uses its unique measurement tools
and large-scale consumer panels to completely understand
the digital consumer's behavior, attitudes and experience.
For more information: www.telephia.com.
#
# #
Maria
Bumatay (Telephia)
(415)
637-4904
Gary
Holmes (The Nielsen Company)
(646)
654-8975
|