OTTAWA – Nearly half (48%) of Canadian mobile phone users aged 18 to 34 report owning a smart phone, and adoption climbs even higher to 55% among those 18 to 24 years old, according to a new study conducted on behalf of the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA).
The 2011 Consumer Attitudes Study was conducted from March 14 – 27, 2011 with Canadian households through a combination of telephone surveys and an on-line panel. It also found that four out of five smart phone owners say they have signed up to a data plan, compared to only 15% of regular phone owners. Just 5% of respondents report having a tablet, and 2% have a tablet connected to a cellular network.
Nearly half of the respondents (49%) between 18 and 34 years old also reported accessing the Internet with their mobile phone. Access to the Internet through mobile phones is significantly higher among smart phone owners (73%); mobile phone users between 18 and 24years old (61%); cell-only households (42%); men (33%); and Albertans (43%).
“Combined with recent reports of record smart phone activations and wireless data growth by Canada’s wireless carriers, the survey results confirm Canadians remain among the heaviest smart phone users in the world,” said Bernard Lord, CWTA president and CEO, in the report’s press release. “As well, Canada retains the top spot in the world with more commercially available HSPA+ wireless data networks than any other country.”
The study further revealed that approximately 58% of smart phone users have downloaded apps to their mobile phone, with the average user having downloaded 12 apps, of which roughly one-quarter were purchased as opposed to downloaded for free.
Smart phone owners that live in cell-only households (71%), those between 14 and 44 years old (64%) and those in Alberta (76%) were the heaviest downloaders of apps. Three-quarters of smart phone users who have downloaded apps (76%) use applications related to weather information, and over two-thirds (69%) use apps that link them to social networks, Instant Messaging or blogs.
Mobile banking and payment activities are also being adopted by Canadians, with over one-fifth (22%) of smart phone users reporting they do some of their banking or pay for products and services from their mobile phone. This is significantly higher at 30% among smart phone owners between 18 and 34 years old.
Canadians also report a high level of interest in 2-D barcodes, with nearly half of mobile phone users (45%) being aware of them, and 10% having scanned a 2-D barcode. Smart phone users (28%), mobile phone users between 18 and 44 years of age (17%), cell-only households (16%) and men (13%) are relatively stronger adopters of this activity. When respondents were asked what they had recently scanned, product barcodes (22%), barcodes in magazines, books and newspapers (14%), grocery items (14%) and BBM contact barcodes (14%) topped the list.
The survey also found that Canadians are using their mobile phones to support charitable organizations through text messaging, with half of mobile phone users saying that they are aware of mobile giving and 6% have already donated this way. Awareness of mobile giving was highest among those 18 to 34 years old (60%), with 12% saying that they have donated this way.
