OYSTER BAY, N.Y.-Most wireless users are not aware of their phone’s wireless Internet capabilities, according to a study from Allied Business Intelligence called “Mobile Wireless Voice and Data Use 2000.”
Less than 5 percent of participants in a sample survey said they believed a wireless device would be a good Internet access tool, while 40 percent stated otherwise. Another 49 percent had no opinion, which ABI said was a sign they were unsure or unaware of the devices’ capabilities. “It seems to be too early to have an audience knowledgeable enough about the data capabilities of the cell phone, even though truncated access has been rolled out throughout the world, and actual Internet access is being rolled out this year and next year,” said Larry Swasey, senior vice president of communications research at ABI. “We have begun to see a large number of advertisements for the wireless Web in the second quarter 2000, but many still have to catch on to this latest and greatest technology.”
Many in the study agreed to pay $10 to $20 a month for data access; 62 percent had no opinion.
