In a survey conducted by ABI Research among mobile business customers from seven industrialized countries, the mobile device features currently attracting most interest and used most often are similar, regardless of location. Bluetooth, speakerphone and voice activated dialing are the most adopted features; QWERTY keyboards, touchscreens, PIM/PDA functionality and large screen size are of most interest regardless of country. However the most used mobile services differ between countries, which suggests varied opportunities and challenges for operators to leverage interests in new device options.

According to principal analyst Dan Shey, “South Korea and Taiwan are frequent video services users, so devices with larger screens can leverage device screen real estate for other multimedia content and services. UK respondents text message significantly more than other nations’ mobile business customers and a high percentage of their usage is for personal reasons; UK operators will want to use improved keypad options for more interactivity, perhaps through advertising or with major brands.”

Device feature interests can also help businesses improve their productivity. Adds Shey, “Use of handsets to access corporate data is still low, averaging about 12% of the survey respondent base. Greater device capabilities can lower the barriers for businesses to leverage corporate data for the benefit of their mobile employees.”