Mobile and Technology Usage Figures

I am asked, probably on a daily basis, 'do you have any figures for the number of people who ...'.
Maybe my answer should be 'If you give me £3000 I can get you the report(s)' as that is how much they cost.

However, cobbling together various sources, the following is a general summary of the UK view mobile and technology attitudes and usage:

General UK mobile information:

There are over 64 million mobile handsets in the UK. More than one per person.
Most users, around 60%, are on pay as you go.
Just under 30% of users have a flat rate data plan for the internet. And around 40% use the mobile internet.
There are nearly 6.5 billion SMS sent each month in the UK (peak time is New Years).
There are around 5.5 million MMS sent each month in the UK.
Smart Phones account for less than 20% of the market. The ihpone is less than 1%.
Around 30% of people have their Bluetooth turned on all the time.

From a June 2008 study by Mintel:

I will only by an upgrade if there is an obvious benefit 53%
I wait to buy until the price comes down before buying 52%
I wait until I’m absolutely sure which is the best to buy 47%
I only buy something when I need to (ie replacement) 43%
I sometimes feel overwhelmed by the sheer choice of new technology on offer 24%
By the time I’ve bought something, it’s already out of date 20%
With new technology, it’s best to stick to the most popular brands 17%
When I buy something, I sometimes worry I made the wrong decision 17%
I tend to buy new things I want as soon as they come to market 5%
None of these 4%

Digital items personally used are highlited in the table below,
June 2008 Base: 2,001 internet users aged 16+

Digital items personally used All

Mobile phone 90%
Broadband internet at home (via high-speed, always-on connection) 88%
Digital TV 62%
Portable digital music player, eg iPod, Zen, MP3 player 50
Wi-Fi (wireless internet connection) 44%
HD-ready TV set 34%
Personal video recorder 32%
Interactive services on digital TV 28%
Digital radio, ie DAB 27%
Podcasting (downloading audio from the internet for playback on your computer or MP3 player) 15%
PDA or other handheld computer, e.g. Palm, HP iPAQ or Dell Axim 10%
Internet dial-up at home 6%


According to the Mobile Life European Report, the British population tend to use the full range of mobile features:
(LSE, 2008)

used Bluetooth 50+%
recorded video using a mobile handset 37%
downloaded a music track 27%
accessed the internet using their mobile 46%

So there you have it. Some useful base line figures. Clearly we are a nation of texters (more than voice calls) and although things like mobile internet have a place, they are a smaller proporation of users.