46 Million Mobile Data Users Used Mobile Search Functions in Q3 2007

46.1 million mobile data users in the USA used mobile search functions in the third quarter of 2007 according to a report released today by The Nielsen Company examining the mobile search behavior of wireless subscribers.

According to the report, which surveyed more than 5,700 mobile search users who use at least one mobile data service, Nielsen also estimates that:

• The most popular form of mobile search among data users in Q3 2007 was 411 (18.1 million users), followed closely by SMS (text-message) -based searching, which was used by 14.1 million data users during the same period.
• While local listings were the leading search objective in terms of users, (27.1 million data users searched for local listings in Q3 2007), 14.8 million said they searched for information such as sports scores, news or weather, while nearly a quarter (11.3 million) said they searched for mobile content.

"As more mobile users turn to their phone for the answers they need, mobile search has quickly escalated as a critical part of the mobile media and advertising landscape," said Kanishka Agarwal, VP of Mobile Media for Nielsen Mobile. "Knowing how mobile searchers find information -- and what they're looking for -- will help us intelligently engage with consumers through mobile search."

Conducted by Nielsen Mobile, the Mobile Search Report sizes and characterizes the mobile search user market, examines the methods people use to search, compares usage across individual search providers and identifies the objectives people have when searching for information over their mobile phone.

From a demographic perspective, Nielsen reports that among mobile data users:

• Demographics vary by search method. 61% of 411 search users are female, while 60% of WAP (or mobile web) search users are male.
• SMS-based searching skews younger when compared to other methods of search. In fact, 33% of SMS searchers are under 25.
• Within SMS search providers, Yahoo!, YellowPages SMS and SuperPages SMS all over-index for Hispanic users.

"Mobile Search is a complex and increasingly important service," said Matt Ward-Steinman, Director of Product Management for Medio Systems, Inc. "As a leading mobile search solutions provider, we count on third-party research such as Nielsen Mobile's to help us to better understand this exciting market."