News

Vennetics: The PC Screen is Now the Preferred Medium for Communication and Entertainment among 18-35 Year Olds in the UK and Ireland (30/6/2009)

For internet based activities such as social networking, VoIP, instant messaging, watching video, and gaming the PC is very much the preferred communication medium for 18-35 year olds in the UK and Ireland

Vennetics, an innovator of PC based solutions for mobile operators, today reveals how 18-35 year olds in the UK and Ireland prefer to use their PC over their mobile phone for all their internet based activities. Vennetics commissioned the UCD Graduate School of Business to research the communication preferences of the 18-35 demographic in the UK and Ireland and the findings which are available to download free at www.vennetics.com/market.html make for very interesting reading.

Preference for Laptop over Mobile Phone

With regard to activities and applications that are available on both mobile phones and laptops, i.e. downloading video clips or music, social networking, VOIP and instant messaging, there is a significant preference for laptops over mobiles. Taking downloading or watching video online as an example, 70 percent never use this application on their phones, compared with 9 percent never using it on their laptop. When given an opportunity to express why users prefer to use their laptop, one user stated that it was “an overall a better experience than utilising a mobile phone network”, other answers centered around reasons such as, the larger screen, better sound quality and the better download speed offered by a laptop.

Interestingly of those surveyed one in four users had bought their laptop for recreational purposes with a high majority using it on a daily basis. The specifications of the laptop are the main influencing factor when making the purchase. A trend that emerged from the research was that the average laptop has a life cycle of approximately two years.

VoIP

Research shows, 46 percent of laptop users have previously made a call using VoIP whereas only 25 percent have made a VoIP call from their mobile. Users stated that because VoIPservices offered additional functionality on their PC such as video calling this gave them more of a reason to use their PC for VoIP over their mobile phone.

Social Networking

Social networking is an activity performed by almost all users on their laptop, compared to two-thirds of users who never use this application on their mobile phone. Cost is the main influencing factor when social networking, followed by ease of use. Facebook, Twitter and Bebo are predictably the three most popular sites among the sample when social networking. From those who social network on both a laptop and mobile phone, over two-thirds of users prefer to do it on their laptop in the R.O.I., mainly due to the fact that the screen size is bigger and it is quicker. In the UK, almost all users prefer to social network on their laptop.

Commenting on the research John Barron Marketing Director at Vennetics stated: “the increasing penetration of mobile broadband access and PC ownership not only in the UK and Ireland but globally, signals that the computer screen is now the dominant user interface for all communication services. The digital home and digital office are becoming a reality through greater market demand for mobility and virtual working. This is a very encouraging development for Vennetics as our J-Box productprovides mobile operators with the necessary customer driven features to embrace the new commercial opportunities that have emerged as both PC and Broadband penetration continues to grow, and thereby enabling operators to keep pace with their customer's ever evolving communication needs.”

www.vennetics.com