According to global research on digital services for mobile phones commissioned by Buongiorno Vitaminic, downloading ringtones, wallpapers and multimedia games comes third place among the favorite activities of mobile holders, preceded only by calls and texting.

The second edition of the global research into the perception of mobile services, carried out by leading Research Institutes and coordinated by Buongiorno Vitaminic on a sample of 5,000 users, from Europe, the United States and South Africa, confirms the consolidated centrality of these "digital accessories" and, in particular, the interaction between the individual and their mobile has become an extension of the individual themselves.

In fact, with 68% of preferences, downloading ringtones, wallpapers, sound effects and multimedia games, comes third among the favorite activities of mobile users, equal to taking pictures with the mobile digital camera and preceded in popularity only by calls (98%) and sms messages (98%).

The impression given by the indications received from the research is that, everywhere in the world, users are looking for - and more frequently obtaining - feelings of enrichment, personal gratification and exclusiveness. The sensations they want to obtain from mobile service offerings are the same as those they feel when buying fashion clothes or accessories.

Mobile services are no longer a novelty taking their first tentative steps but rather a rich, broad and dynamic market, articulated in well shaped segments and unceasingly nourished by new products.

The first item that emerges from the research is the general improvement in the satisfaction level of users. 1 mobile user out of 2, in fact, considers themselves to be satisfied with the services they bought, judging them to be more alluring, fashionable and closer to personal tastes.

70% of interviewees perceived the offering as more varied, interesting, of better quality and available through clearer acquisition modes.

This increased satisfaction of users is reflected in the increased frequency and quantity of services acquired which more than doubled in the last year. 30% of the sample declared that they download about one product every month, while 14% actually buy one product per week (up from 5% in 2004).

The trend towards higher value services is being driven by ringtones, both polyphonic that account for 22% of preferences compared to 19% in 2004, and those based on high quality audio files (true tones), which jumped from 2 to 10%.

Also, animated wallpapers have increased their popularity from 6% to 8%, while the rating for multimedia games remained almost the same, since it is a segment that counts on a stable demand from heavy users.

The segment of videoringtones (+2%) is rapidly growing, proportional to the introduction of mobile handsets able to support this service.

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