Mass Market Mobile E-mail
Interest growing rapidly among mass market consumers
Mobile E-mail is often thought to be a toy for the enterprise guys, but it seems that the tide could be shifting a bit. Funambol, a company focused on open source mobile software, reports that a recent survey shows consumers are becoming more interested in mobilization.
“The market potential for consumer mobile email is tremendous and far exceeds the enterprise market.” – Fabrizio Capobianco, CEO, Funambol
The survey analyzed 500 people; some who are currently using mobile email and some who are not. The data shows that almost half of those who currently aren’t using mobile email said they expect to ‘mobilize’ within a year. It also shows that, on average, people are willing to pay about $5 a month for mobile email.
“This survey provides major insight into the motivation of early and future adopters of mobile email. It shows that a ‘one size fits all’ approach won’t satisfy the needs of masses.” – Hal Steger, VP Marketing, Funambol
While the findings here are interesting, a survey of 500 people (a portion of which are already mobile) doesn’t seem like a large enough sample to reach the conclusions that they are reaching in this study. However, the data is certainly compelling and does raise some interesting questions about how the mobile email market will change of the next 1-2 years.
You can get a copy of the complete study from Funambol at booth #1177 at CTIA Wireless, March 27-29 in Orlando.