COMSCORE M:METRICS: 80 PERCENT OF IPHONE USERS IN

11-07-2008
RESTON, Virginia, July 11 /PRNewswire/
The iPhone is already among the top phones used for mobilebrowsing. 3G capability will drive usage even higher as the iPhone challengesits competitors.comScore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world,today reports that iPhone users surpass all others in mobile media usage,with more than 80 percent of iPhone users in France, Germany and the UK usingthe device to browse news and information on the mobile Web, compared to 32percent of other smartphone users.(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080115/COMSCORELOGO)As the market anticipates the launch of the 3G version in Germany and theUK today, comScore M:Metrics, confirms that even on the slower 2.5G mobilenetwork, the iPhone has increased mobile Internet consumption by a factor of13 times in the case of a category such as social networking sites. The studyalso found that 42 percent of iPhone users visited a social networking siteon their device in May compared to the market average of 3 percent and 10percent of smartphone owners. E-mail is another popular feature, with nearly70 percent of iPhone users sending and receiving e-mail with the device,compared to just 26 percent among other smartphones users and 7.6 percent ofthe cell phone market overall.Internet Usage Habits among Smartphone Subscribers Three-month Average Ending May 2008 Mobile phone subscribers in France, Germany and the United Kingdom Source: comScore M:Metrics, MobiLens Internet Service Accessed via Phone Percent of Subscribers iPhone Smartphone* Market Any news of information via browser 80.4% 32.2% 10.7% Accessed web search 56.6% 18.3% 5.0% Watched any mobile TV and/or video 32.0% 14.6% 7.4% Accessed a social networking site or blog 42.4% 10.3% 3.2% Listened to music on mobile phone 70.0% 32.5% 18.4% Used email (work or personal) 69.5% 25.6% 7.6% * Smartphone defined as a device running the Windows, Palm or Symbianoperating system"Our data confirm that the iPhone and its requisite data plan havesucceeded in drawing consumers to the mobile Web," said Paul Goode,senior analyst, comScore M:Metrics, "Even without 3G networking, users arehappy to browse and consume as much content as they can, and as soon as thedata speeds improve, these figures will likely continue to increase."The improvement in iPhone handset features and reduced pricing shouldhave a significant impact on uptake, especially in the European marketswhere, according to comScore M:Metrics data, the UK has 3G penetration at 26percent, Germany at 23 percent and France at 17 percent.comScore M:Metrics also found that while smartphones are adopted by ahigher proportion of men than mobile phones overall, iPhones have an evenstronger skew to men in the U.K. and Germany. In the U.K for example, 75percent of iPhone users are male, while men account for about 68 percent ofsmartphone users. In contrast, in France, 67 percent of iPhone users are mencompared to a higher 71 percent of smartphone usersGender Splits among Cell Phone Users by European Country Three-month Average Ending May 2008 Mobile phone subscribers in France, Germany and the United Kingdom Source: comScore M:Metrics, MobiLens Country Total Mobile Market Smartphones iPhone Male Female Male Female Male Female EU3* 50.6% 49.4% 69.4% 30.6% 72.3% 27.7% France 49.2% 50.8% 70.9% 29.1% 67.3% 32.7% Germany 53.7% 46.3% 69.9% 30.1% 71.2% 28.8% UK 48.7% 51.3% 68.2% 31.8% 75.8% 24.2% "It is worth noting that the Nokia N95 8GB with high speed 3G andsignificant handset subsidies now has over twice as many users as the iPhoneacross the UK, Germany and France," observed Goode. "Yet the iPhone, despiteits small user-base, is already in the top 10 handsets for online browsing inthe UK and in the top 5 in France and Germany. It is giving devices likeNokia's N Series and Sony Ericsson K and W Series a definite run for theirmoney."About comScorecomScore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digitalworld. This capability is based on a massive, global cross-section of about 2million Internet users who have given comScore permission to confidentiallycapture their browsing and transaction behavior, including online and offlinepurchasing. comScore panelists also participate in survey research thatgathers and integrates their attitudes and intentions. Using its proprietarytechnology, comScore measures what matters across a broad spectrum of digitalbehavior and attitudes and helps clients design more powerful marketingstrategies that deliver superior ROI. With its recent acquisition ofM:Metrics, comScore is also a leading source of data on mobile usage.comScore services are used by over 950 clients, including global leaders suchas AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo!, BBC, Carat, Cyworld, Deutsche Bank, FranceTelecom, Best Buy, The Newspaper Association of America, Financial Times,ESPN, Fox Sports, Nestle, Starcom, Universal McCann, the United States PostalService, Verizon Services Group and ViaMichelin. For more information, pleasevisit www.comscore.com.About M:MetricsAcquired by comScore, Inc. in May 2008, M:Metrics is an authoritativesource of data on mobile usage. As one of the few research firm to measurethe audience for mobile media using on-device metering and one of the world'slargest monthly survey of mobile users, M:Metrics provides data on actualmobile content consumption by applying trusted media measurementmethodologies to the mobile market. M:Metrics monthly syndicated data servicegives clients the critical insights and intelligence required to inform smartbusiness strategies and the competitive benchmarks needed to evaluate theperformance of competitors and partners. M:Metrics services are used by morethan 180 clients, including global leaders in the mobile, advertising,technology and consumer goods industries such as Verizon, Vodafone,Microsoft, RIM, FOX, CBS, BBC, BMW, Samsung, Palm, Qualcomm, Ericsson, O&M,and JWT. For more information, please visit www.mmetrics.com.Web site: http://www.comscore.comhttp://www.mmetrics.com