Consumer Attitudes about MobileTechnology

Ted Schadler of Forrester writes a column in CNET on how today's consumers view, adopt and use technology. The coulmn is based on Forrester's recent Consumer Technographics Benchmark 2005 study, which surveyed 68,664 U.S. and Canadian households.

Key mobile-related findings were consumers:

Snapped up ever-cheaper personal devices. Consumers went device crazy in 2004: Adoption of MP3 players more than doubled to 10.8 percent of households; 8 million households added laptops to their computer lineup; 15 million households added digital cameras; and camera phones exploded from 2.5 percent to 12.8 percent of households. Technology attitude correlates with device adoption: Tech optimists as a group own 6.3 devices on average, whereas pessimists own only 4.4.

Used mobile phones for long-distance and data. Almost one in three households makes more than half its long-distance calls from home on a mobile phone. Of that group, those younger than 25 are 40 percent more likely to make wireless long-distance calls from home than they were in 2003. Technology attitude predicts handset brands and mobile spend: LG owners are more likely than Nokia owners to be optimistic about technology--and they spend $20 more a month on wireless services.

The column also diiferentiates how tech optimists and tech pessimists behave, and Forrester gives recommendations to marketers on ways to reach each audience....

via CNET