A recent study by FusionOne showed that 43 percent of mobile users surveyed have lost, damaged or had their phones stolen at one time or another, and 21 percent of respondents said the worst part of losing or damaging a phone is having to re-enter lost contact information.
The survey of 424 consumers also found that 17 percent of respondents felt losing their phones was worse than losing a wallet or set of keys. Of people who had lost phones, 26 percent said it took more than a week to try to restore their contacts, and 49 percent said they were only able to recover about half of their previously stored numbers.
It is not surprising that FusionOne is a provider of wireless contact management software solutions. Although the company’s research could be viewed as self-serving, it does emphasize the multiple ways that wireless phones become more ubiquitous as life-management tools.
A few weeks ago a friend of mine dropped his cell phone into a steaming vat of coffee. Vat is the only word that works here-it is one of those 96-ounce plastic mug things that you get from the gas station. I suddenly understand how he manages to sleep only four or five hours a night.
Every time we have spoken since he asks, “Hey, you don’t happen to have a number for so-and-so?” He has a snazzy new phone, but I think until he is done rebuilding his contacts, he will be laying awake those few hours he used to sleep. Since he is in business for himself and by himself, the contacts are all the more precious. Contacts are not just precious for business folks though. Everyone from busy moms to dating teens values their phone lists.
FusionOne’s products include MightyBackup and MightyPhone, which are wireless synchronization products for safeguarding content on wireless phones by backing them up to personal computers.
There are several other contact management providers, including FutureDial with its PC-based SnapSync product for wireless contact management and synchronization. DataPilot’s contact manager works between a wireless phone and a personal digital assistant via a data cable. Xpherix offers the Remo line of products, including iPhonebook, iBackup and iDatebook, which are robust data and contact management solutions for personal and enterprise needs alike.
Product availability varies based on handset and carrier, but across all demographics a wireless contact manager seems like the simplest add-on sale out there to me.
