Telephia: Yahoo! Messenger is the #1 Mobile Instant Messenger Application, Both in Usage and Service Quality

According to its latest mobile Internet report, Telephia found that Yahoo! Messenger rose to the top among mobile IM applications. The report showed that "nearly 7.9 million mobile users logged onto Yahoo! Messenger via their wireless device in December 2005, reaching nearly 4 percent of all wireless subscribers." Yahoo! Messenger also "scored higher than AOL's instant messenger in overall service quality in four out of five wireless networks measured."

Table 1. Top Instant Messenger Applications (U.S.)
                                                Subscriber Reach
IM Application              Unique Audience (000)     (%)

1. Yahoo! Messenger                        7,889              3.9%
2. AOL Instant Messenger                   7,324              3.6%
3. MSN Messenger                           4,282              2.1%
4. Google Talk                             1,666              0.8%
5. ICQ Messenger                             673              0.3%
Source: Telephia Mobile Internet Report, December 2005

In performance tests , Telephia noted that "success rates for instant messaging over short codes was much higher than when using the native client-based instant messenger on the device. On average, IM activity over short codes had a three percent login failure rate. Among client-based instant messenger applications tested, two-thirds posted a login failure rate of 20 percent or greater."

Kanishka Agarwal at Telephia said, "The biggest Internet brands, such as Yahoo!, AOL, MSN, and Google, are well poised to extend their reach across different channels, including the mobile world. In this battle of the brands, the product that presents 24/7 uptime and a feature-rich IM experience that mimics what consumers can do on their computers will beat out the competition. Thus, benchmarking service quality from the user's experience will be a critical gauge for providers to enhance their products."

Telephia also found that during the past holiday season, "mobile shoppers were in full force during the holiday season. More than 3.3 million mobile consumers visited shopping sites on their wireless device in December. Mobile consumers visiting the Target.com website increased by 243 percent, while Amazon.com attracted 107 percent more mobile users in December. Shoppers to eBay rose 80 percent over the previous month, and Froogle's mobile audience jumped 76 percent."

Table 2. Top Mobile Internet Categories Ranked by Month-Over-Month
Growth (U.S.)
                   November        December
                   Unique Audience Unique Audience Percent Growth
Category               (000)           (000)            (%)
--------------------- --------------- --------------- ---------------
1. Health/Fitness                437           1,156             164%
2. Shopping/Auctions           1,546           3,326             115%
3. Automotive                    729             983              35%
4. Search                      5,415           6,538              21%
5. Food/Dining                 1,126           1,324              18%
--------------------- --------------- --------------- ---------------
Source: Telephia Mobile Internet Report, December 2005