In 2012, the mobile services industry continues to evolve at a lightning-fast pace as consumers become more dependent on mobile phones. The proliferation of the smartphone and the birth of tablets have spawned a growing legion of data-hungry consumers that are looking to use their mobile more efficiently and securely.
Forty-three percent of consumers replaced their camera with a mobile phone in 2011, according to a recent report by Oracle. The survey that covered more than 3,000 mobile phone consumers worldwide also found that 34% have replaced with a mobile phone their MP3 player and 24% their GPS device.
These revelations appear to prove findings in 2010 when more than half of consumers thought their mobile phone would replace their camera, MP3 player or GPS device within five years.
As new players continue to enter this increasingly competitive marketplace, mobile users have high expectations – they want the coolest device, superior service and to be able to use their devices both at home and at work seamlessly. Oracle believes these trends will be key drivers in affecting telecom providers in the coming year.
Consumer demand for applications is growing significantly. In Asia-Pacific, 53% of respondents have downloaded a free app and 22% have paid for an app on their mobile device. In addition, demand for apps is spreading from phones to other mobile devices, particularly tablets. Half of respondents in the region already own a tablet device or plan to purchase one in the next 12 months.
Apps are also gaining importance in the enterprise, especially on tablets. According to a separate report from independent research firm Heavy Reading Mobile Networks Insider, 25% of enterprises now have a mobile business intelligence (BI) application or dashboard in place and another 33% percent of enterprises are planning to implement some type of mobile BI by the end of 2012.