Third-party applications powerfully influence mobile phone and PDA purchases, according to an annual survey of 14,000 mobile content users by online retailer Handango. The survey also suggests that active mobile content users are more satisfied with their devices, and less likely to change brands.

Handango says its recent user survey suggests that 69 percent of mobile device purchase decisions are influenced strongly or somewhat influenced by the available selection and quality of third-party applications. Third-party software availability ranked third overall among purchase influencers, behind only “need in my personal life,” and “need in my line of work.”

According to Handango, 71 percent of respondents said they had purchased and installed more than five applications, not including trials and freeware. However, 40 percent reported difficulty licensing mobile applications, perhaps owing to the wide range of licensing schemes employed by content providers, Handango said.

Multimedia capabilities are especially sought-after, the Handango survey suggests, rising from “minor influence” in last year's survey to sixth overall — ahead of price.

“The rich data from our customer survey enables Handango and our partners — including mobile operators, handset manufacturers, portals and developers — to optimize content discovery, purchasing and usage, which helps us grow the overall mobile downloads ecosystem,” said Randy Eisenman, president and chief executive officer of Handango.

According to Handango, the self-administered survey was delivered via email in English to more than 60,000 potential respondents, and was completed over a three-week period in May, 2005 by more than 14,000 respondents.

 
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