Teens Rate Music, Games and Video Functionality Less Important on Cell Phones"

Online wireless retailer LetsTalk has published the results of a survey of US teenagers on their use of cell phones. The respondents, aged 10-18, overwhelmingly chose text messaging as their most important feature beyond voice calls, with very few teens identifying functionality such as video, email, instant messaging (IM) or a music player as the most important feature on a cell phone.

The survey asked a representative sampling of teens in the United States between ages 10 and 18, what is your cell phone's most important feature, and found:

• 66% of females aged 16-18 consider texting the most important feature; compared to just 49% of males in same age group
• 35% of males aged 10-12 consider games the most important feature; nearly three times the average teen
• Despite efforts by carriers, mobile video is not considered the most important feature for any teen segment
• Camera phones are the 2nd most popular feature behind text messaging. On average, 27% of teen females thought camera phones were the most important feature; 25% of males.

The aggregate responses for teens in terms of their most important cell phone feature:

• Texting -- 49%
• Camera -- 25%
• Games -- 12%
• Music player -- 5%
• IM -- 5%
• E-mail -- 2%
• Video -- 2%

"Are cell phones changing and doing more than ever before? Absolutely. Do teens look at their phones today and see much more than a cell phone or texting device? No." said Delly Tamer, founder and CEO of LetsTalk.com. "Past research from LetsTalk.com has shown that many consumers don't rely on their cell phones for everything, and teens today seem to be telling us the same thing."

The texting survey, commissioned by LetsTalk and conducted by noted research firm Teenage Research Unlimited, was conducted in August 2006. The poll interviewed a representative sampling of over 1,200 young adults in the United States between the ages of 10 and 18."

Posted to the site on 14th September 2006