Orange report shows surge in mobile search

mediaweek.co.uk 06-Jan-09, 13:30

LONDON - Consumers are displaying a growing appetite for mobile media services, with mobile searches increasing by 30% over the first nine months of last year.

According to the latest Orange Digital Media Index, there were five million mobile searches in the 12 months to last September, as customers increasingly used their mobile phones to look up information.

Orange said the use of social networking sites via its Orange mobile internet portal has grown markedly, with 640,000 of its customers accessing social networking sites through their mobile phones, accounting for 166 million page impressions every month. Individual users check social networking sites on average 260 times a month, said Orange.

In addition, music downloads were up by 10% over the first nine months of 2008, according to the Orange report, with a record high in September, when 300,000 tracks were downloaded.

Paul Jevons, director of products, portals and services for Orange, said: "This latest report reflects a transition in mobile similar to what is taking place on the web. Mobile is no longer simply a channel for brands to deliver packaged content in a manner of their choosing."