[M:Metrics releases their most recent U.S. mobile user findings and reports Sanyo SCO-8200 and Motorola RAZR owners are ahead of the pack in relation to accessing mobile applications or downloading mobile content.]

Seattle -- M:Metrics, the mobile market authority, found that Sanyo SCP-8200 and Motorola RAZR owners are out-consuming subscribers of all other devices. The portion of owners of these devices that are used to access mobile applications or downloaded mobile content is more than double that of the market overall.

"There are several contributing factors that make one device more compelling than another for mobile content consumption," observed Seamus McAteer, chief product architect and senior analyst, M:Metrics. "The Sanyo SCP-8200 has the highest conversion rate in the industry thanks to Sprint's clean implementation of browser-based services, and the RAZR's large, bright LCD promotes use of browser-based services and game downloading. Furthermore, given the cache of the RAZR as a stylish handset, RAZR owners are more likely to accentuate the statement they make with their handset with the latest tones."

Motorola's success in the mid-range of the market has given it a dominant share among the most popular devices used to access mobile data services. Five of the top 10 handsets carried its moniker, including the i730, the most popular device used by Nextel subscribers, which leads the pack, boasting over one million active mobile data users in November.

Nokia's 6010, the most widely used device in the United States, ranks ninth in terms of use of mobile data and was the OEM's only phone to make it into the top 10. Nokia ranks second in terms of overall installed base with a 21 percent share of the market, but lags in terms of conversion to use of mobile data services. Nokia ranks fourth behind Motorola, Samsung and LG with a market share of 12.2 percent, as its strength in the U.S. market is primarily in the prepaid and lower spending, older market segments.

Top 10 U.S. Handsets used to Access Mobile Content and Applications

OEM / Model / Mobile Data Users / Conversion Rate

Motorola i730 1,107,033 31.0%

Motorola V551 888,465 34.1%

Motorola V3 RAZR 876,114 47.7%

Motorola V220 787,101 26.5%

LG VX6100 769,202 26.8%

Motorola V180 768,407 20.8%

Samsung SCH-a670 740,039 26.3%

Sanyo SCP-8200 696,095 49.9%

Nokia 6010 650,686 15.4%

Samsung SPH-a660 563,973 23.2%

Source: M:Metrics, Inc. Copyright 2005. Survey of U.S. mobile subscribers. Data based on the quarter ending November 30, 2005. n=37,329 U.S. mobile subscribers. Data services usage excludes the use of SMS or photo messaging.

M:Metrics data suggests that the age of the owner has a significant impact on whether a popular device is used to access mobile content. According to M:Metrics' most recent monthly survey, Motorola has a healthy market share lead of 28.3 percent among 13 to 24 year olds, the age group representing the heaviest users of data services. Samsung ranked second with a share of 18.8 percent, followed by LG, which accounted for 16.2 percent. Nokia ranked fourth in this demographic group with a share of 15.5 percent.

M:Metrics surveys 12,000 to 14,000 U.S. mobile subscribers monthly to report on the consumption of mobile content and applications and benchmark the performance of carrier, device manufacturers, mobile content publishers and technology providers. Below are the results of its November Benchmark Survey.

U.S. Mobile Subscriber Monthly Consumption of Content and Applications M:Metrics Benchmark Survey: November 2005

Activity / % US Mobile Subscribers

Text Messaging 32.2%

Retrieved News or Info via Browser 10.2%

Purchased Ringtone 9.1%

Used Photo Messaging 8.6%

Used Personal E-Mail 6.8%

Used Mobile Instant Messaging 5.8%

Used Work E-Mail 3.9%

Purchased Wallpaper or Screensaver 3.7%

Downloaded Mobile Game 3.1%

Source: M:Metrics, Inc., Copyright 2005. Survey of U.S. mobile subscribers. Data based on the quarter ending November 30, 2005, n=37,329 U.S. mobile subscribers.

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