SEATTLE-Multimedia messaging service activity continued to grow at an impressive clip in April, with nearly 8 percent of U.S. wireless users sending photos from their handsets to another phone or e-mail address, according to mobile usage measurement firm M:Metrics.
The latest figures from the company’s monthly report indicate more than 14 million subscribers sent pictures from their phones in April, representing an increase of more than 10 percent from usage patterns in March. Ringtone transactions continued to increase, as well, with 24.5 million users down loading music clips to their handsets.
More than 60 percent of ringtone buyers downloaded two or more clips, according to the survey, and more than one-third downloaded three or more. And as the demand for ringtones increases, so does the number of ringtone providers.
While 61 percent of users downloaded their ringtones from carrier portals, 49 percent downloaded tunes from the Web. Another 5 percent bought the clips with a short message service short code.
“In the ringtone market, we’re beginning to see uptake in direct-to-consumer business models and the merchandising benefit of common short codes,” said Mark Donovan, senior analyst and vice president of products for M:Metrics. “Over one-fifth of subscribers who downloaded ringtones said they received at least some of their tones from sources outside the carrier walled garden.”
