We’re always keen to learn more about mobile trends, especially from the people who are big smartphone users. Well, Google used their employees – i.e. early adopting, tech-savvy people from all around the world – to share their attitude towards mobile.
Introducing Google Homegrown: a global network of Google employees who are used for research purposes around technology. For this study, 80 mobile early adopters from 19 countries were questioned.
During April and May 2011, the community came together in an online forum allowing them to discuss, react and comment on each other responses.
Here are the main results that we found interesting to share:
People use their phones to solve problems and generally make their lives easier. With a smartphone you never get lost, you can always talk to your friends via instant messaging (Europe), you can locate shops (Japan) and order cabs (Singapore).
Because of the over-use of mobile devices, the battery life expectancy gets higher and higher. They use battery tracking and optimizing apps and usually own multiple chargers, so they never run out of juice, and can always be connected.
They never watch TV without at least another screen there, sometimes a laptop, but most frequently a mobile, which is a great opportunity for the development of dual-screen to enhance TV experience, whether it’s comments from the director, news in the background or social conversations about the plot of the show.
Mobile commerce and financial management are still pretty rare; except in Japan, where people use NFC to pay and so consequently they can stop carrying their wallet everywhere, and in Kenya where people use text messages to transfer funds.
We were also thrilled to learn that one of the apps that was popular all over the world was Google My Tracks which allows people to track their bike ride to work and measure time, speed and fitness results, and visualise their stats too. Which is something that we strongly believe in with all the work we do with Nokia and Push Snowboarding.
Read the full Global Mobile Trends Report.
^im
@indianamatine