SAN FRANCISCO – Just four percent of Canadian mobile phone subscribers and three percent of American cell customers use their handsets to shoot video, says research firm Telephia.
To some, that might say folks aren’t really all that keen on using their mobile phones to record video, since camera phones have been around for some time now. However, says Telephia, it just means we’re only at the beginning of an emerging market.
The mobile industry is buzzing these days about services that share user content, like YouTube, MySpace and Facebook because mobile phones are the camera of choice for many users (who then use their mobile company’s network to transmit the data, meaning more dollars for the likes of Cingular or Telus).
Google’s recent US$1.65 billion acquisition of YouTube is prompting heightened discussion among carriers, according to Telephia. Even though just three percent of U.S. mobile subscribers regularly use mobile phones to record video, that represents nearly eight million consumers. "This adoption rate for mobile video capture doubles to six percent among mobile subscribers who recently purchased a new handset, revealing a rapid upward trend," says the Telephia release.
“Google upped the ante this week by paying $1.65 billion for YouTube, validating the success and future potential of user-generated video content. The mobile phone is a unique and rich source of on-the-move, spontaneous, personal videos – the kind that made YouTube a worldwide phenomenon to begin with. It is your tube on the move,” said Kanishka Agarwal, Telephia’s vice-president of new products.
The Motorola RAZR is the top handset choice among recent handset buyers who take videos with their phones, with a 21% share – besting the next top device by nearly four to one. The Nokia 6101, Motorola E815, Sony Ericsson Z525 and the LG VX8100 were also favorites (Data is based on mobile subscribers who recently purchased a new device during the last six months).
1. RAZR V3 series (V3, V3c, V3m, V3i): 21%
2. Nokia 6101 series (6101,6102): 6%
3. Motorola E815 series: 3%
4. Sony Ericsson Z525: 3%
5. LG VX8100 series: 3%
While more and more North American mobile consumers use their phones to capture videos, they still lag behind Europeans. Among the six European countries Telephia measures, Italy and Spain secured the highest adoption rates at 15% and 14%, respectively. The U.K. and Sweden also posted double-digit penetration (12% and 10%, respectively), while both France and Germany secured a nine percent penetration rate.
