Mobile instant messaging is going mainstream. Maybe.
Wireless IM use is growing, with 32 percent of all mobile messaging using an IM service in addition to, or instead of, short message service texting, according to a study commissioned by America Online, Inc.
AOL said it is the leading mobile IM provider, with 35 percent of mobile messengers using the service on their cell phones and PDAs.
The study, conducted by Opinion Research Corp. and released last week, found that 90 percent of teens and adults polled use traditional instant messaging from their computers, and nearly half of those aged 55 or older use IM. Nearly 20 percent of all IM users also use instant or text messaging from their mobile devices, the study said.
But while IM offers features like AOL’s Buddy List and theme-oriented chat rooms, users must log on to send or receive a message, just like being on the computer. In contrast, SMS messages can be sent with the push of a button, and can be received at any time.
Those are just two reasons SMS continues to dominate the mobile messaging world, said Seamus McAteer, a senior analyst for the San Francisco-based Zelos Group.
“It’s been slow going,” McAteer said of the uptake of mobile IM. “Instant messaging is not a threat; it will not eat into SMS traffic, which is used by over 50 percent of wireless users under 25 years old, our most recent statistics show.”
In fact, instant messaging is only used by about 7 percent of mobile consumers, said McAteer. Even as companies like Danger produce IM-friendly hardware-Danger’s Hiptop platform, which includes the popular Sidekick, features Yahoo Messenger service-the IM segment will continue to hold just a fraction of the mobile messaging market.
“In terms of indicating presence and availability, IM will have a role,” said McAteer. “But it will be a relatively small chunk of the market, long-term.”
