Mobile Phones for Messaging Popular with Consumers Among Feature Phones

Mobile phones for messaging are expected to increase to a third of all feature phone shipments by 2015, according to ABI Research (News - Alert).

In a recent study, ABI pointed out that smartphones are in the public spotlight but consumers keep on buying feature phones. Feature phones – which are less expensive than the more complex smartphones – made up over 75 percent of the handset market in 2010, ABI said in a press release carried on Yahoo News.

Feature phones are a less expensive version of “Internet-compatible phones that crush the number of smartphone users in countless countries,” explains TMCnet.

“A messaging phone is a feature phone that has been enhanced for messaging services including SMS, MMS, mobile e-mail, and mobile IM. These devices have a Qwerty keyboard and other capabilities at a price that is usually more affordable than a smartphone,” ABI Research Senior Analyst Victoria Fodale added in a statement. “Mobile phones for messaging will encompass an increasing percentage of feature phone shipments, growing to almost a third of the category by 2015.”

ABI adds that their popularity comes from diverse reasons, such as users wanting a device that is optimized for an app, with messaging being a good example, ABI said.

In addition, increasingly, the mobile Internet is being extended to users of feature phones, which have expensive and relatively slow connectivity, ABI said.

Facebook (News - Alert) has introduced a mobile app for feature phones. It works on over 2,500 mobile devices. These include those from Nokia, Sony Ericsson, LG and other manufacturers. The app was made with Snaptu.

ABI Practice Director Kevin Burden added, “Mobile phones optimized for messaging are targeted to specific markets including consumers in developing regions who need affordable solutions for messaging and mobile Internet services.”

“In the developing regions of Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America, access to mobile broadband often outstrips fixed-line broadband access,” Fodale said in the statement. “For many users in those regions, their only Internet experience may be via a mobile phone.”

ABI, in its new study, “Mobile Phones for Messaging,” reviews trends for feature phones, which have been enhanced for messaging with Qwerty keyboards. It looks at new messaging phones from carriers and original equipment manufacturers. It also looks at technology for messaging phones, such as BREW MP, SMS, MMS, mobile e-mail, and mobile IM.The study is provided as part of the Smartphones & Mobile Devices Research Service from ABI.