Google+ Adoption - preliminary results from MetaFacts

Early Independent Research on Google+ Users

By Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts

The earliest adopters of Google+ are a unique slice of highly-active socially-networked users.

Early results are showing a good-news/bad-news combination for Google+:

• Bad news: Early Google+ users are above average among social networkers who have recently unfriended someone, removed content, and adjusted their privacy settings. They are well below average in friending someone, not a very bullish sign.
• Good news: Early Google+ users are also above average among social networkers in clicking ads, RSVP’ing events, playing games, sharing photos, and watching videos

Unlike the launch of Google Buzz, which brought privacy concerns to the fore, Google+, even privacy-adjusters to be trying out Google+, at least so far.

Evidently, Google+ controlled its “field trial” launch, inviting and allowing in a carefully selected audience. Over half are highly experienced tech users, with 16 or more years under their belt since they used their first PC, and 12 or more years using a mobile phone (smartphone or basic feature phone).

In the coming year, it’s unlikely to see an either/or scenario between Google+, Facebook, and Twitter. Instead, the most-active social networkers will simply expand their experience, influence, and content across an ever-wider network. The privacy-conscious and ad-averse are likely to remain in the shadows or with minimal involvement. Up for grabs is the largest middle segment, and this group is most likely to wait and watch for a simple and safe experience which piques their interest. This will come in the form of competitive apps on Facebook, extensions to Twitter, or further innovation from Google.

Background and Methodology

Google+ came live shortly before the fielding of the 29th year of the MetaFacts Technology Survey, so we expanded the comprehensive user survey to include Google+ along with other social networks.

The Technology User Profile survey is independently conducted by MetaFacts. The syndicated research original service provides solid sizing and segmentation information about technology use, uniquely allowing for deep dives into use of competitive and substitute products as well as interactive segmentation and profiling.

Based on surveys with thousands of representative respondents reached by telephone and online, the MetaFacts Technology User Profile Service survey the entire range of information technology users. The full market is surveyed, from those with the richest collection of products such as Smartphones to Tablets and Netbooks, to those who don’t even use a mobile phone or PC.

Soon we will be releasing key takeways about the earliest adopters for the new service. Watch this site – technologyuser.com – for brief, complimentary updates. For full details, a special Google+ Flash Report will also be available at a special rate. Send a request to be notified of availability. Subscribers to the 2011 Technology User Profile services will receive updates directly.

Busiest PC Users Are Single Young Males

The Busiest PC Users Are Busy Juggling Devices, Not Focusing

A MetaFacts TUPdate by Dan Ness, Principal Analyst

The busiest PC users are not only busy in hours; they spend a lot of time moving from one PC to another and also between other devices.

This is important because for years, various pundits have foreseen the widespread abandonment of PCs for smartphones, tablets, or other emerging devices. In fact, just the opposite is happening.

Averaging 2.9 PCs, more of the busiest PC users use Home PCs, Work PCs, and Shared/Public PCs than less-active users. Their Desktop usage rate shows this is the main type of PCs used, similar to less-busy users. Their use of Notebook PCs is higher than among other users, although still behind Desktop use.

Almost nine out of ten (86%) of the busiest PC users use two or more PCs, and over half (54%) use three or more PCs.

For this analysis, MetaFacts identifies the busiest PC users as those who spend 60 or more hours per week across all the PCs they use within a 90 day period. This hyperactive group numbers 33.5 million adults, for almost one in five (19%) of online adults.

Why is this important?

Popular media and many recent product launches might leave the impression that PCs have been replaced by smartphones, tablets, and netbooks. However, media attention changes faster than actual usage.

It’s unlikely the busiest PC users will give up their PCs for Smartphones anytime soon. Even the busiest PC users who have Smartphones use their PCs for more activities than the busiest users with basic mobile phones.

While communication activities might seem like the most natural challenger in a one-device scenario, in fact communication PC activities are the second-highest category of activities for the busiest PC users.

The busiest PC users are also the most active with their mobile phones – both Smartphones and Basic Mobile Phones. A higher share of the busiest PC users use their phones for text messaging, email, calendars, playing games, and web browsing than other PC users.

That the busiest PC users are accumulators of multiple devices is probably helped by their physical demographic – young and male. Also, marital status is correlated, although we wouldn’t go so far as to say there is a causal link in either direction. Over four in ten (41%) of the busiest PC users are single, versus 30% of the least-busy PC users.

It’s also telling by what the busiest PC users don’t do – watch much TV. Three in four (75%) of the busiest PC users say they use their PC more than watching TV versus 41% of the least busy. Fun is a key motivation, where 72% of the busiest say they keep finding new ways to use the Internet for fun vs. 42% of the least-busy.

The above analysis is based on people who use PCs to go online, which is the majority. Looking a little more deeply into the possibility of a sizable market being missed, our 1st phase offline survey helped us determine that 14.9% of adults use a mobile phone and do not actively use a PC to go online. While this mobile-phone-only segment has grown, most growth has come from the fully-offline segment. The 5.5% of adults who do not use a mobile phone or online PC at all are slowly shrinking, particularly as handset prices drop and carriers offer prepaid plans.

For the next five years, MetaFacts expects the busiest technology accumulators to continue to use multiple PCs in addition to mobile phones and other devices, and not to fully quit PC use. Since nearly half (46%) of the busiest users have used a PC for 13 or more years, versus the one-third (34%) of the least-busy who are similarly experienced, they are likely to master cloud-based storage and synchronization services to keep their content accessible as they traverse between their various platforms. In this multi-screen world, developers and services will need to support a wide variety of platforms, many of which may not be the newest technology or operating systems.

Looking ahead, the busiest users will likely be noticed by how aptly they can juggle their various and many devices.

Source

The findings in this TUPdate are drawn from the MetaFacts Technology User Profile Survey. In each wave of Technology User Profile, we survey a representative sample of respondents about their use of mobile phones, computers, technology attitudes, and many other consumer electronics products and services, behavioral and socioeconomic factors. Current TUP subscribers can access and drill down more deeply into this phenomenon using TUP Interactive Access or with their datasets.

We began the above analysis by first looking at the answers from nearly 10,000 respondents in the Technology User Profile service and then drilled down further into their profiles to get a more complete picture.

To see other research coverage of Internet products and activities – from smartphones to feature phones, desktops to notebooks, social networking, demographics, and attitudes – see the many other questions TUP answers on www.technologyuser.com. Tech market research professionals can license direct access to TUP.

About TUPdates

MetaFacts releases ongoing syndicated original research on the market shifts, trends and consumer profiles for Smartphones, Netbooks, Mobile PCs, Workplace PCs, Home PCs, Web Creators, Broadband, and many other technology products and services. These TUPdates are short analytical articles in a series of specific topics utilizing the Technology User Profile Annual Edition study, which reveals the changing patterns of technology adoption around the world. Interested technology professionals can sign up at www.metafacts.com for complimentary TUPdates – periodic snapshots of technology markets.

About MetaFacts

MetaFacts helps technology marketers find and measure their best and future customers. MetaFacts’ Technology User Profile (TUP) survey is the longest-running, large-scale comprehensive study of its kind, conducted continuously since 1983, the year before Apple released the Apple Macintosh. The detailed results are a primary market sizing and segmentation resource for leading companies providing consumer-oriented technology products and services, such as PCs, printers, software applications, peripherals, consumer electronics, mobile computing, and related services and products. TUP analyzes key trends and the data-rich source can be dived into more deeply for custom analysis. For more information about the syndicated research service, analysis tools, publications and datasets, contact MetaFacts at 1-760-635-4300.

Rent to Own-Storefront look familiar?

A MetaFacts TUPdate by Dan Ness, Principal Analyst

Consumers continue to shape the future of technology with their pocketbooks, whether by outright purchase or payment plans. PC renting is not currently widespread among most U.S. consumers, with only 1% of American online adults using a rented home PC. If considered much at all by the digerati, it is considered passé or fringe.

However, looking ahead, consumer usage patterns are trending towards the pay-as-you-go or the ad-supported model, and with a new definition of PCs and devices as the preferred platform(s): whether called Smartphone, Laptop, Tablet, Netbook, Mobile, or otherwise.

Today’s PC rental business might be called opportunistic, socially beneficial, or predatory, depending on your perspective. Americans renting PCs skew towards younger adults – particularly those PC Newbies who have used a PC less than a quarter of their life – as well as skewing towards adults not employed full-time. Also, evidently, PC renting is biased towards people of color: with rental rates higher among adults who identify with a racial/ethnic group other than White/Non-Hispanic.

Interestingly, these same segments are stronger than average in their use of Smartphones or Basic Mobile Phones as their primary or only browsing, email, and Twitter platforms, as well as the broadening use of prepaid cellular plans. This signals that these consumer segments are likely the earliest adopters of new financial models – not the mythical early adopters stereotypically portrayed as affluent, highly-educated youngsters.

Recently, attention on the rental PC business has increased due to the controversial practices of some rental retailers. The major furniture rental chain Aaron’s was named in a federal lawsuit. Some rental companies, allegedly including some Aaron’s outlets or franchisees, have protected their equipment through the use of remotely activated webcams or tracking software, to the consternation of unwitting renters. Privacy and security issues are looming as important factors following large breaches spanning credit cards, health records, Sony PlayStations, passwords and WikiLeaks documents, only to name a few.

The pay-as-you-go approach has done well for the cable TV and wireless phone businesses, if not for PC manufacturers or PDA makers. Wireless carrier subsidies are increasingly driving the decisions of consumer technology manufacturers, a factor arguably contributing to Palm being driven from their business model prior to being acquired by Hewlett Packard.

In addition to this pay-now/pay-later balance, consumers also position platforms along the BOB-Integrated spectrum. The BOB – Best Of Breed – end of the spectrum features products which do one or few functions very well. One example is a standalone GPS device which gives directions extremely well. The other end of the spectrum: Integrated or Swiss Army Knife – features broadly functional devices which do many things adequately. An example is a Smartphone navigation app, which may not have a full function set or may be compromised due to simultaneous use for incoming messages and music or as a timepiece. Most interestingly, consumers find ways to adapt their behavior in ways that are out of synch with the intentions of the product designers, in some cases using on a fraction of a product’s capability while at other times finding new uses for products beyond their expected design.

Looking ahead, MetaFacts expects continued turmoil and changes as each segment of consumers decide their own favorite device or platform striking a balance of BOB vs. integrated, with choices being affected in part by heightened security and privacy concerns and in part by the underlying payment model.

Source

The results in this TUPdate are drawn from the MetaFacts Technology User Profile Survey. In our most recent wave of Technology User Profile, we surveyed American adults about their use of mobile phones, technology attitudes, and many other behavioral and socioeconomic factors. Current TUP subscribers can access and drill down more deeply into this phenomenon using TUP Interactive Access or with their datasets.

We started this analysis by first looking at the answers from 8,175 U.S. respondents in the Technology User Profile service and then drilled down further into their profiles to get a more complete picture.

The MetaFacts Technology User Profile Overview Edition report is available immediately on www.metafactsstore.com, which covers the broader range of key trends. View findings in 25 pages of executive summary analysis, 200+ pages of charts and graphs, all supported by 95+ pages of detailed tables. The complete, 300+ page report is delivered to you electronically.

These editions are for the U.S. based on the 2010 wave of Technology User Profile gathered among a scrupulously selected set of representative respondents, surveyed both online and offline.

To see other research coverage of Internet products and activities  – from smartphones to feature phones, desktops to notebooks, social networking, demographics, and attitudes – see the many other questions TUP answers on www.technologyuser.com. Tech market research professionals who want a solid resource they can use immediately after industry events such as mergers, or even use prior to anticipated events, can license direct access to TUP.

About TUPdates

MetaFacts releases ongoing research on the market shifts and profiles for Smartphones, Netbooks, Mobile PCs, Workplace PCs, Home PCs, Web Creators, Broadband, and many other technology industry trends and facts. These TUPdates are short analytical articles in a series of specific topics utilizing the Technology User Profile Annual Edition study, which reveals the changing patterns of technology adoption around the world. Interested technology professionals can sign up at www.metafacts.com for complimentary TUPdates – periodic snapshots of technology markets.

About MetaFacts

MetaFacts helps technology marketers find and measure their best and future customers. MetaFacts’ Technology User Profile (TUP) survey is the longest-running, large-scale comprehensive study of its kind, conducted continuously since 1983, the year before Apple released the Apple Macintosh. The detailed results are a primary market sizing and segmentation resource for leading companies providing consumer-oriented technology products and services, such as PCs, printers, software applications, peripherals, consumer electronics, mobile computing, and related services and products. TUP analyzes key trends and the data-rich source can be dived into more deeply for custom analysis. For more information about the syndicated research service, analysis tools, publications and datasets, contact MetaFacts at 1-760-635-4300.

Are early adopters starting to act like laggards? It may seem a paradox that the most forward-thinking consumers – the first to adopt smartphones – would also be the ones more strongly avoiding unique smartphone features.

The true answer is that consumers are more complex and intelligent than simplistic adoption curve analysis suggests. In choosing mobile phones, they are navigating between the sirens and rocks of enticing deals, identity theft, entertainment, carrier signal strength (or weakness), desire for social connections, misinformation, privacy, trust, and much more.

When it comes to data security & privacy, most Smartphone users express concern and corresponding action. A higher share of Smartphone than Basic Mobile Phone users take steps to protect their security and privacy, including disabling some features.

Privacy Concerns for Smartphones and Basic Mobile Phones

Location services have been integral to Smartphones and Feature Phones for years and most handsets give subscribers the option to minimize tracking. However, recent widely publicized breaches have brought this closer to the forefront of consumer’s buying behavior.

Age and gender alone do not truly define the privacy-aware from others; correcting for age shows that tech experience matters. Most Smartphone users today have more tech experience than average users, so are savvy about settings and controls and have privacy and security concerns for PCs which are inherited by their Smartphones.

App developers which assume settings will be on by default, such as location identification, will encounter market resistance. Privacy and Security are issues which can suddenly inflame public sentiment. Even though customers may have read agreements and adjusted their privacy & security settings, many have an expectation of being private and secure.

Consumers vote with their responses, as well as their fingers and wallets. Building (or rebuilding) trust is a widespread issue, and certainly not only in the U.S. Each participant in the ecosystem of handling personally identifiable information has their part to play if location-based services and mobile payments are to flourish and last longer than fads. MetaFacts expects that privacy and security will continue to stay a concern among many consumers with reported breaches beyond those specifically on Smartphones – from identify theft to Wikileaks reports.

Source

The results in this TUPdate are drawn from the MetaFacts Technology User Profile Survey. In our most recent wave of Technology User Profile, we surveyed American adults about their use of mobile phones, technology attitudes, and many other behavioral and socioeconomic factors. Current TUP subscribers can access and drill down more deeply into this phenomenon using TUP Interactive Access or with their datasets.

We started this analysis by first looking at the answers from 8,175 U.S. respondents in the Technology User Profile service and then drilled down further into their profiles to get a more complete picture.

The MetaFacts Technology User Profile Overview Edition report is available immediately on www.metafactsstore.com, which covers the broader range of key trends. View findings in 25 pages of executive summary analysis, 200+ pages of charts and graphs, all supported by 95+ pages of detailed tables. The complete, 300+ page report is delivered to you electronically.

These editions are for the U.S. based on the 2010 wave of Technology User Profile gathered among a scrupulously selected set of representative respondents, surveyed both online and offline.

To see other research coverage of Internet products and activities – from smartphones to feature phones, desktops to notebooks, social networking, demographics, and attitudes – see the many other questions TUP answers on www.technologyuser.com. Tech market research professionals who want a solid resource they can use immediately after industry events such as mergers, or even use prior to anticipated events, can license direct access to TUP.

About TUPdates

MetaFacts releases ongoing research on the market shifts and profiles for Smartphones, Netbooks, Mobile PCs, Workplace PCs, Home PCs, Web Creators, Broadband, and many other technology industry trends and facts. These TUPdates are short analytical articles in a series of specific topics utilizing the Technology User Profile Annual Edition study, which reveals the changing patterns of technology adoption around the world. Interested technology professionals can sign up at www.metafacts.com for complimentary TUPdates – periodic snapshots of technology markets.

About MetaFacts

MetaFacts helps technology marketers find and measure their best and future customers. MetaFacts’ Technology User Profile (TUP) survey is the longest-running, large-scale comprehensive study of its kind, conducted continuously since 1983, the year before Apple released the Apple Macintosh. The detailed results are a primary market sizing and segmentation resource for leading companies providing consumer-oriented technology products and services, such as PCs, printers, software applications, peripherals, consumer electronics, mobile computing, and related services and products. TUP analyzes key trends and the data-rich source can be dived into more deeply for custom analysis. For more information about the syndicated research service, analysis tools, publications and datasets, contact MetaFacts at 1-760-635-4300.

Market demand for online gambling continues strongly among some players, despite efforts by the U.S. Federal Government to limit it, including the recent closures of several key online poker sites. While states from New York and New Jersey to California sort out their legislation to block, tax or support it, a core segment of consumers still find ways to satisfy their desires.

Interestingly, each state varies in its online betting activity level. Nationwide, 4.5% of online adults are betting online, either playing poker or other contests.

New Jersey residents hold the distinction as the state with the most-active online bettors, with 8% (one in 13) of online adults betting online.

Three states are effectively tied for second place at 6% of adults: Illinois, New York, and California.

Other states also above the national rate are Georgia, North Carolina, Florida, and Virginia. Each has a 5% penetration rate.

MetaFacts-Online Bettors by Top States

Why does this matter?

If and when laws liberalize, knowing which consumers will or won’t be the earliest customers can make a big difference, for policymakers, marketers, and brick and mortar casinos alike.

Source

The results in this TUPdate are drawn from the MetaFacts Technology User Profile Survey. In our most recent wave of Technology User Profile, we surveyed American adults about their online betting and online card-playing to build a profile of these diehard players. We also compared this to our prior international wave of Technology User Profile to get a global perspective.

To get closer to a true answer from respondents who may not consider it socially acceptable to admit to online betting in a survey, we gathered online betting and card-playing activity well within the survey, amidst a battery of other online activities and attitudes. Through our years of survey experience and testing, we’ve found that this method elicits truer answers for certain behaviors, especially coupled with other rigorous methodological steps.

We started this analysis by first looking at the answers from 8,175 U.S. respondents in the Technology User Profile service and then drilled down further into their profiles to get a full picture. We also compared usage from our prior waves, including results from our identical surveys across nine other countries.

The full results can be obtained through the MetaFacts TUP Online Betting Demand Data Slice. This data-rich deliverable includes 75 pages of PowerPoint slides and 50 supporting cross-tabulations.

The related MetaFacts Technology User Profile Overview Edition report is available immediately on www.metafactsstore.com, which covers the broader range of key trends. View findings in 25 pages of executive summary analysis, 200+ pages of charts and graphs, all supported by 95+ pages of detailed tables. The complete, 300+ page report is delivered to you electronically.

These editions are for the U.S. based on the 2010 wave of Technology User Profile gathered among a scrupulously selected set of representative respondents, surveyed both online and offline.

To see other research coverage of Internet products and activities – from smartphones to feature phones, desktops to notebooks, social networking, demographics, and attitudes – see the many other questions TUP answers on www.technologyuser.com. Tech market research professionals who want a solid resource they can use immediately after industry events such as mergers, or even use prior to anticipated events, can license direct access to TUP.

About TUPdates

MetaFacts releases ongoing research on the market shifts and profiles for Smartphones, Netbooks, Mobile PCs, Workplace PCs, Home PCs, Web Creators, Broadband, and many other technology industry trends and facts. These TUPdates are short analytical articles in a series of specific topics utilizing the Technology User Profile Annual Edition study, which reveals the changing patterns of technology adoption around the world. Interested technology professionals can sign up at www.metafacts.com for complimentary TUPdates – periodic snapshots of technology markets.

About MetaFacts

MetaFacts helps technology marketers find and measure their best and future customers. MetaFacts’ Technology User Profile (TUP) survey is the longest-running, large-scale comprehensive study of its kind, conducted continuously since 1983, the year before Apple released the Apple Macintosh. The detailed results are a primary market sizing and segmentation resource for leading companies providing consumer-oriented technology products and services, such as PCs, printers, software applications, peripherals, consumer electronics, mobile computing, and related services and products. TUP analyzes key trends and the data-rich source can be dived into more deeply for custom analysis. For more information about the syndicated research service, analysis tools, publications and datasets, contact MetaFacts at 1-760-635-4300.

A MetaFacts TUPdate by Dan Ness, Principal Analyst

Ink refill usage is substantial, especially among some leading-edge market segments.

There’s an old marketing adage about giving away the razor to make it up selling razor blades. In the PC printer business, printer ink pays a lot of the bills, yet is increasingly at risk.

In our most recent wave of Technology User Profile, American adults told us they continue to prefer original ink versus compatible or refilled cartridges. However, the ink loyalty rate varies by PC printer brand and market segment. One bellwether segment is decidedly using refills or sharing photos online.

We started this analysis by first looking at the answers from 8,175 U.S. respondents in the Technology User Profile service and then drilled down further into their profiles including factors such as their printer brand, type of ink used, years of PC experience, and age. We also compared usage from our prior waves, including results from our identical surveys across nine other countries.

In U.S. homes, original is strongest. Kodak & Lexmark have the highest ink loyalty, at 81% and 79%, respectively. Eight in ten adults who use these PC printer brands as their primary printer used an original ink cartridge by the same manufacturer as the printer.

Ink Type by Printer Brand

HP’s ink loyalty rate is not the strongest, with HP ranked third. HP is maintaining its strength: its ink loyalty rate at 73% is slightly up from 70% the prior year.

These high ink loyalty rates may be satisfactory enough for some printer manufacturers, yet as consumers change their printing behaviors, and even non-printing behaviors, these rates are likely to change as well.

Use of refilled ink is highest for Dell and Brother, both with 27% of adult printer users. Due to HP’s dominant market share, the number of users of refills for HP printers is almost equal to users of refills for all other brands combined.

The refilled market is broad and diverse, so unlikely to change overnight. It it served by a diverse group – spanning drug stores such as Walgreens, franchises like Cartridge World, to a small army of entrepreneurs and do-it-yourselfers with pliers and squeeze bottles.

Direct competition is strong, although compatible inks trail refills as the least-preferred option across most brands. Use of competitive compatible inks is highest for Epson and Brother, at 19% and 18%, respectively.

Compared with many other developed countries, the U.S. has some of the most ink-loyal consumers. Our prior wave of Technology User Profile across key countries revealed that ink loyalty rates are strongest in Japan and the US and weakest in Germany and the UK, and that use of refills is highest in South Korea and Germany.

Home Photo Printing - Ink & Options

Looking ahead, the ink business continues to face challenges both from within the printer and ink industry as well as from substitutes.

Printer manufacturers hoping to reclaim refill customers face an uphill battle beyond pricing, since a higher rate of refill users share photos online and a lower rate print photos. Adults who use refills have higher rates of using online photo-sharing services, sharing images across a social network, sharing on their own websites or blogs, and sharing folders online through a cloud storage service. They are an attractive segment, though, because when they print, they print at higher volumes.

To the extent that younger users are bellwether of future buyers, it’s important to note that younger adults use refills at a higher rate than older adults.

Looking further ahead, increased online collaboration is expected to continue the erosion of home-printing photos. Of the 70.9 million adults with a home printer which they don’t use to print photos, most of their sharing is done online. The greatest upside is likely to come from the broad general increase in images from user’s own smartphones, feature phones and cameras, as well as the many photos they receive online from friends and others.

Source

The results in this TUPdate are drawn from the MetaFacts Technology User Profile Survey. Results specific to this topic can be obtained through a customized report and analysis. The MetaFacts Technology User Profile Overview Edition report is available immediately on www.metafactsstore.com, which covers the broader range of key trends. View findings in 25 pages of executive summary analysis, 200+ pages of charts and graphs, all supported by 95+ pages of detailed tables. The complete, 300+ page report is delivered to you electronically. This edition is for the U.S. based on the 2010 wave of Technology User Profile gathered among a scrupulously selected set of representative respondents, surveyed both online and offline.

To see other research coverage of Internet products and activities – from smartphones to feature phones, desktops to notebooks, social networking, demographics, and attitudes – see the many other questions TUP answers on www.technologyuser.com. Tech market research professionals who want a solid resource they can use immediately after industry events such as mergers, or even use prior to anticipated events, can license direct access to TUP.

About TUPdates

MetaFacts releases ongoing research on the market shifts and profiles for Smartphones, Netbooks, Mobile PCs, Workplace PCs, Home PCs, Web Creators, Broadband, and many other technology industry trends and facts. These TUPdates are short analytical articles in a series of specific topics utilizing the Technology User Profile Annual Edition study, which reveals the changing patterns of technology adoption around the world. Interested technology professionals can sign up at www.metafacts.com for complimentary TUPdates – periodic snapshots of technology markets.

About MetaFacts

MetaFacts, Inc. is a market research firm focusing exclusively on the technology industries. MetaFacts’ Technology User Profile (TUP) survey is the longest-running, large-scale comprehensive study of its kind, conducted continuously since 1983, the year before Apple released the Apple Macintosh. The detailed results are a primary market sizing and segmentation resource for leading companies providing consumer-oriented technology products and services, such as PCs, printers, software applications, peripherals, consumer electronics, mobile computing, and related services and products. TUP analyzes key trends and the data-rich source can be dived into more deeply for custom analysis. For more information about the syndicated research service, analysis tools, publications and datasets, contact MetaFacts at 1-760-635-4300.

Early Adopter

Today, Amazon announced the Amazon Cloud Drive and Amazon Cloud Player for Web. This game-changing move will likely bring a boost to the decades-old online file storage services. It may even have the effect of reining in music listeners who may have strayed, since the player will evidently only support purchased songs.

We took a quick look into the MetaFacts Technology User Profile research and discovered several challenges ahead for Amazon and others planning to follow suit, as well as some elements that show Amazon is in the right place at the right time with the right offering.

First of all, more Amazon shoppers alread use online cloud storage than non-shoppers. This means these consumers may be predisposed to cloud-based storage which is an advantage for Amazon. However, if the consumers currently using cloud storage are focused more on file backup and file/folder synchronization services, these don’t appear to be in Amazon’s initial offering.

Also, more Amazon shoppers use a portable MP3 player than online onsumers who don’t regularly shop on Amazon. While Apple’s iPod has the highest share among MP3 players, it’s share isn’t markedly different among Amazon’s shoppers than non-shoppers

In fact, Amazon’s shoppers are already active music-listeners, being well above average in music downloading and listening to streaming audio.

They are also more active using social networks, as well as sharing photos and videos through networks like Facebook, or through sites like HP Snapfish.

Meanwhile, among users of cloud storage services, Apple’s footprint is substantially higher than among non-cloud users. Further, users of cloud storage skew younger than Amazon’s current clientele. This could have the effect of drawing in younger customers to Amazon’s customer base, or may be ignored by Amazon’s relatively older and less cloud-savvy customers.

Cloud storage users have a higher share of Smartphone use than non-users, with higher shares for use of RIM Blackberry, Windows Phone, Apple iPhones and Android Smartphones.

Because most consumers may not know that Amazon has supported back-end cloud storage for many other technology firms, consumers are likely to raise concerns about Amazon’s experience and security capabilities.

Interested tech marketers and researchers may contact MetaFacts or visit the MetaFacts Online Store for licensing information.

Source

The results in this TUPdate are drawn from the MetaFacts Technology User Profile Survey. Results specific to this topic can be obtained through customized report. Also, the related MetaFacts Technology User Profile Overview Edition report is available immediately on www.metafactsstore.com, which covers the broader range of key trends. View findings in 25 pages of executive summary analysis, 200+ pages of charts and graphs, all supported by 95+ pages of detailed tables. The complete, 300+ page report is delivered to you electronically. This edition is for the U.S. based on the 2010 wave of Technology User Profile gathered among a scrupulously selected set of representative respondents, surveyed both online and offline.

To see other research coverage of Internet products and activities – from smartphones to feature phones, desktops to notebooks, social networking, demographics, and attitudes – see the many other questions TUP answers on www.technologyuser.com. Tech market research professionals who want a solid resource they can use immediately after industry events such as mergers, or even use prior to anticipated events, can license direct access to TUP.

About TUPdates

MetaFacts releases ongoing research on the market shifts and profiles for Smartphones, Netbooks, Mobile PCs, Workplace PCs, Home PCs, Web Creators, Broadband, and many other technology industry trends and facts. These TUPdates are short analytical articles in a series of specific topics utilizing the Technology User Profile Annual Edition study, which reveals the changing patterns of technology adoption around the world. Interested technology professionals can sign up at www.metafacts.com for complimentary TUPdates – periodic snapshots of technology markets.

About MetaFacts

MetaFacts, Inc. is a market research firm focusing exclusively on the technology industries. MetaFacts’ Technology User Profile (TUP) survey is the longest-running, large-scale comprehensive study of its kind, conducted continuously since 1983, the year before Apple released the Apple Macintosh. The detailed results are a primary market sizing and segmentation resource for leading companies providing consumer-oriented technology products and services, such as PCs, printers, software applications, peripherals, consumer electronics, mobile computing, and related services and products. TUP analyzes key trends and the data-rich source can be dived into more deeply for custom analysis. For more information about the syndicated research service, analysis tools, publications and datasets, contact MetaFacts at 1-760-635-4300.

A MetaFacts TUPdate by Dan Ness, Principal Analyst

With the prospective merger of AT&T and T-Mobile, would the combined dominant share be very different in some states than in others?

Also, will the fog of merger give competitors enough pause to secure their unique clienteles, and attract more of the same?

Nationwide, the combined share of the top three carriers would increase from just over two-thirds (68%) to nearly eight in ten (78%).

Post-merger Carrier Domination

In our most recent wave of Technology User Profile, we found that three carriers – Verizon Wireless, AT&T Mobile, and T-Mobile, collectively hold a 68% share. This is based on the broadest active market – subscribers of mobile carriers using Smartphones or Basic Mobile Phones, with either contract or pre-paid agreements, and among online adults. Combining the subscriber share of AT&T Mobile and T-Mobile, this boosts Sprint into the top group, so that the top three carriers collectively command 78%.

There is a regional difference, in some cases due to the growing popularity of simpler more cost-effective prepaid agreements through MVNOs, and in other cases to the strength of regional operators.

The combined AT&T/T-Mobile share would be 50% or higher in two states: Texas with 55% and California with 50%.

In the Northeast, TracFone is popular enough to be included in the post-merger top 3 carriers, although with a distant 9% to AT&T/T-Mobile & Verizon’s collective 73%. TracFone’s Northeast share is buoyed by New York and Pennsylvania, where the 9% share is similarly far from the two leaders 70% and 73%, respectively.

Among the major states, Wisconsin is unique in the strength of regional carrier US Cellular, which holds a 19% share, even besting nationally-second Verizon. No other regionals have that position or share.

Across other states and regions, Sprint has a third-ranked position. In most key states, Sprint’s share is less than half of the second-ranked carrier.

Whether or not these heightened levels of market dominance constitute a problem will depend primarily on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ). One of their statistical tests for market concentration is the Herfindal-Hirschman Index (HHI) which summarizes the relative difference of shares. Industries with scores of more than 1,800 are considered concentrated. If post-merger, using our current market share results, Texas would have an HHI of 3,396, California  3,247, and New Jersey 3,208, up from 2,059, 2,154, and 2,547 respectively. Furthermore, the HHI would rise to 3,299 among contract subscribers and 1,716 among prepaid subscribers.

From the customer’s perspective we’ve gathered in findings of our TUP survey results, the usage profiles of AT&T and T-Mobile subscribers are different enough to show this will not be a simple merger. In fact, some customer usage types are unique enough they were already poised to seek better alternatives due to the way they use mobile wireless devices. That’s in addition to changes they might be considering beyond being triggered by the merger announcement, such as their satisfaction levels with customer service, their reception, or the complexity or costs of their subscription agreements.

Source

The results in this TUPdate are drawn from the MetaFacts Technology User Profile Survey. Results specific to this topic can be obtained through a customized report and analysis. The MetaFacts Technology User Profile Overview Edition report is available immediately on www.metafactsstore.com, which covers the broader range of key trends. View findings in 25 pages of executive summary analysis, 200+ pages of charts and graphs, all supported by 95+ pages of detailed tables. The complete, 300+ page report is delivered to you electronically. This edition is for the U.S. based on the 2010 wave of Technology User Profile gathered among a scrupulously selected set of representative respondents, surveyed both online and offline.

To see other research coverage of Internet products and activities – from smartphones to feature phones, desktops to notebooks, social networking, demographics, and attitudes – see the many other questions TUP answers on www.technologyuser.com. Tech market research professionals who want a solid resource they can use immediately after industry events such as mergers, or even use prior to anticipated events, can license direct access to TUP.

About TUPdates

MetaFacts releases ongoing research on the market shifts and profiles for Smartphones, Netbooks, Mobile PCs, Workplace PCs, Home PCs, Web Creators, Broadband, and many other technology industry trends and facts. These TUPdates are short analytical articles in a series of specific topics utilizing the Technology User Profile Annual Edition study, which reveals the changing patterns of technology adoption around the world. Interested technology professionals can sign up at www.metafacts.com for complimentary TUPdates – periodic snapshots of technology markets.

About MetaFacts

MetaFacts, Inc. is a market research firm focusing exclusively on the technology industries. MetaFacts’ Technology User Profile (TUP) survey is the longest-running, large-scale comprehensive study of its kind, conducted continuously since 1983, the year before Apple released the Apple Macintosh. The detailed results are a primary market sizing and segmentation resource for leading companies providing consumer-oriented technology products and services, such as PCs, printers, software applications, peripherals, consumer electronics, mobile computing, and related services and products. TUP analyzes key trends and the data-rich source can be dived into more deeply for custom analysis. For more information about the syndicated research service, analysis tools, publications and datasets, contact MetaFacts at 1-760-635-4300.

Churn Intention by Major Carrier-MetaFacts

Will dissatisfied subscribers let their fingers do the walking?

A MetaFacts TUPdate by Dan Ness, Principal Analyst

An old western movie featured a cowboy who sold his horse several times throughout the film. After each sale, the cowboy would wander off and whistle and the horse would run back to the cowboy. The various new owners were upset, yet the cowboy claimed his horse had his own mind.

With the prospective merger of AT&T and T-Mobile, the biggest question is whether the customers will approve of the transaction and stay with the combined unit. Or, will they stray, perhaps back to Verizon or to one of the prepaid MVNOs?

One measure of a subscriber’s mindset is their intention to switch carriers upon the expiration of their contracts.

In our most recent wave of Technology User Profile, we found that both AT&T Wireless and T-Mobile contract subscribers report the highest churn intention rate of any of the major carriers. Close to one in four (23%) of T-Mobile’s online subscribers agree or strongly agree that they plan to switch carriers when their contract expires. Among AT&T subscriber base, this rate is nearly one-fifth at 19%. For comparison, Sprint’s rate is 18% and Verizon’s is 13%. These findings are based on responses from 5,054 online adults who use a mobile phone with a contract agreement, a subset of the entire Technology User Profile survey.

Also, churn intention rates were highest among both carrier’s Smartphone as well as Basic Mobile Phone subscribers.

If the merger were complete today, the combined customer base would have the highest churn intention rate. This is not fully comparable to independent rates, because some subscribers planning to switch likely considered switching from AT&T to T-Mobile or the other way around.

In other findings in our survey results, we’re seeing that the segments of customers AT&T has attracted are different enough from T-Mobile’s subscribers that it’s likely that both companies will need to create an assortment of campaigns to address the wide span of segments. Furthermore, this will rattle the positions of handset manfacturers from Motorola to Apple and RIM.

Of course, wireless carriers do all they can to sway subscriber’s churn intentions, and we’re likely to see creative efforts from both companies to entice subscribers to stay, just as competitors Verizon, Sprint, and others will do their best to welcome them into their fold.

So, we’ll all be keeping our ears open for the whistle which might draw subscribers back to Verizon, although some might instead follow the growing herd to prepaid alternatives.

Source

The results in this TUPdate are drawn from the MetaFacts Technology User Profile Survey. Results specific to this topic can be obtained through a customized report and analysis. The MetaFacts Technology User Profile Overview Edition report is available immediately on www.metafactsstore.com, which covers the broader range of key trends. View findings in 25 pages of executive summary analysis, 200+ pages of charts and graphs, all supported by 95+ pages of detailed tables. The complete, 300+ page report is delivered to you electronically. This edition is for the U.S. based on the 2010 wave of Technology User Profile gathered among a scrupulously selected set of representative respondents, surveyed both online and offline.

To see other research coverage of Internet products and activities – from smartphones to feature phones, desktops to notebooks, social networking, demographics, and attitudes – see the many other Internet-oriented questions TUP covers on www.technologyuser.com

About TUPdates

MetaFacts releases ongoing research on the market shifts and profiles for Smartphones, Netbooks, Mobile PCs, Workplace PCs, Home PCs, Moms and Dads, Web Creators, Broadband, and many other technology industry trends and facts. These TUPdates are short analytical articles in a series of specific topics utilizing the Technology User Profile Annual Edition study, which reveals the changing patterns of technology adoption around the world. Interested technology professionals can sign up at www.metafacts.com for complimentary TUPdates – periodic snapshots of technology markets.

About MetaFacts

MetaFacts, Inc. is a market research firm focusing exclusively on the technology industries. MetaFacts’ Technology User Profile (TUP) survey is the longest-running, large-scale comprehensive study of its kind, conducted continuously since 1983, the year before Apple released the Apple Macintosh. The detailed results are a primary market sizing and segmentation resource for leading companies providing consumer-oriented technology products and services, such as PCs, printers, software applications, peripherals, consumer electronics, mobile computing, and related services and products. TUP analyzes key trends and the data-rich source can be dived into more deeply for custom analysis. For more information about the syndicated research service, analysis tools, publications and datasets, contact MetaFacts at 1-760-635-4300.

Ratio of Male to Female Online Daters - MetaFacts

Online dating – a flat niche – has tech-savvy daters who like to watch – reported in MetaFacts TUP survey

A MetaFacts TUPdate by Dan Ness, MetaFacts Principal Analyst

Online dating has evolved for decades, having settled into a comfortable niche now spanning all ages and strata. In active use by only a fraction of unattached adults, these services continue to face challenges beyond their direct competitors. Alternatives to connect with others include social networking sites such as Facebook, in addition to more traditional in-person approaches such as clubs and churches. The likeliest near-term innovation will come from the increased use of technology, and not from broad sociological or cultural changes in online dating patterns.

As part of Technology User Profile, we asked respondents whether they are using an online dating service. One in eight (12%) of unattached online adults said they were actively dating online, numbering 9.9 million Americans. This finding is from a carefully balanced sample of 8,175 adults in the second phase of the Technology User Profile survey.

The trend is neither growth nor stagnation in the use of online dating. The current 12% rate is essentially identical to one year prior, where MetaFacts determined that 13% of unattached adults are dating online. This is based on 8,160 respondents.

The MetaFacts measure of active online daters is a smaller number than the estimates reported by many online dating sites and in publicly available industry analyst reports. There are several reasons for this difference. MetaFacts gathered this information from independent bottom-up surveys, not through top-down company guidance. This independent approach gives a uniquely solid view which is not subject to differing definitions of who is and isn’t an active online dater. Also, each adult is counted only once as an online dater, so are not counted for each of the multiple sites they may use. Furthermore, the survey questions about the use of online dating, marital status are included along with vary many other questions about the use of technology. This helps mediate the social effects for answering questions about topics such as online dating.

MetaFacts also found that online dating spans all ages. Unattached adults age 25-44 have the highest incidence of online dating, with one out of six (16%) using the sites. Among the age 45-54 group, one out of seven (14%) date online, and one out of ten (10%) age 55-64. The youngest and oldest age groups have the lowest use. At a 5% incidence, anyone age 65+ will only encounter one out of twenty similarly aged unattached adults.

We also looked into gender disparity, finding more men than women using online dating sites. There are almost twice as many men than women using online dating sites. Males make up 65% of single, separated, divorced, or widowed adults using an online dating site. This is somewhat larger than the 58% share of unattached online adult who are male.

Drilling more deeply into the Technology User Profile datasets, we looked at the gender balance within age groups. To the extent that dating takes place with similarly-aged men and women, a question arises: is there a wider disparity between men and women within certain age groups? [chart]

Unattached Males age 45-54 outnumber similarly aged women by three to one, the widest gap between all same-age groups. In the age 35-34 and age 65+ groups, the ratio of men to women is closer to parity.

We looked at the next decade over, to see how things stand between online daters who are in the age group ten years older or younger than themselves. Among older males paired with younger females, there is less of a disparity between the numbers online. For example, for each Female 25-34, there are 1.5 Males 35-44. For Females 45-54, there is actually a dearth of Males 65+, with the ratio below one to one.

When comparing the ratio of older females to younger males, we found a different story. In most cases, there are many younger males for each older female. For each Female 45-54, there are four or more Males 35-44. Similarly, for each Female 55-64, there are 4.1 Males 45-54.

Note that this research is reporting the age of current active online daters, and is not reporting that online daters are dating others who are ten years older or younger. Most online dating sites offer the capability for daters specify the age of the persons they are seeking. Some sites, such as cougarlife.com, specifically target women who choose to date younger men. Also, this specific analysis does not focus on same-sex dating. It is primarily focused on the big picture of active online daters and who they are.

Singles are significantly more drawn to online dating than those who have been in prior relationships. Unattached adults using an online dating site are mostly made up of Singles (64%) with the rest (36%) being Divorced, Separated, or Widowed. This is similar to the profile unattached adults who are not dating online, 68% of whom are Singles.

Compared to many other developed countries, Americans have median dating rates, based on the 2009 wave of Technology User Profile. Use of online dating sites is highest among German unattached online adults, at nearly one in five (19%). In France and the UK, the rate is closer to one in six, at 16% and 15%, respectively. At the other end of the spectrum, online dating sites are used far less often in Italy and South Korea, being used by 6% and 7%, respectively, of unattached adults in those countries.

While cultural norms vary widely from country to country, the key takeaway from these measures is that online dating is not only an American phenomenon.

Another 3.9 million attached online adults also report they are using an online dating service, which is 4% of adults who are married or part of an unmarried couple. This confirms the many anecdotal experiences shared by online daters who have discovered that the person they met online is already involved in an attached relationship. There are also online dating sites which openly cater to facilitating outside relationships among couples, married or not. Based on MetaFacts research, the share of attached online adults using online dating sites has not changed since the prior year.

Looking ahead, innovation in online dating is likely to come from competition within the online dating industry, and less likely to result from overnight societal changes in dating behavior.

This innovation will come in the form of increased consumer use of dating-specific apps for smartphones and tablets such as the Apple iPad.

Online daters have a more tech-savvy and tech-active profile, and are already actively using social networking sites like Facebook. They also use Smartphones at a higher rate than the unattached not dating online.

Due to the sensitive nature of information shared through online dating sites, online dating apps will be subject to the already-heightened privacy concerns of online daters. A higher share of online daters than non-daters take privacy steps with their mobile phones, such as turning off location-based services (LBS), password protecting their phones, and avoiding some apps.

There’s a pent-up demand for freedom of immediate access and even expressions of rebellion among online daters. A higher share of online daters than non-daters feels they should be allowed to text or email while they are driving a car. Most states have enacted legislation to protect the public from distracted drivers, so this demand is unlikely to be met with current heads-down, thumbs-only technology.

Probably the most relevant technology behavior to watch: video calls on mobile phones. A strongly higher share of online daters are already using the new capability of advanced carrier networks and smartphones to make video calls, using products such as FaceTime on Apple iPhones.

MetaFacts expect the broadening of online dating device platforms to encourage churning between sites and the extension of renewals, and not to quickly encourage unattached non-daters to join in online.

Source

MetaFacts Technology User Profile Overview Edition – report available immediately on www.metafactsstore.com. View findings in 25 pages of executive summary analysis, 200+ pages of charts and graphs, all supported by 95+ pages of detailed tables. The complete, 300+ page report is delivered to you electronically. This edition is for the U.S. based on the 2010 wave of Technology User Profile gathered among a scrupulously selected set of representative respondents, surveyed both online and offline.To see other research coverage of Internet products and activities – from smartphones to feature phones, desktops to notebooks, social networking, demographics, and attitudes – see the many other Internet-oriented questions TUP covers on www.technologyuser.com

About TUPdates

MetaFacts releases ongoing research on the market shifts and profiles for Smartphones, Netbooks, Mobile PCs, Workplace PCs, Home PCs, Moms and Dads, Web Creators, Broadband, and many other technology industry trends and facts. These TUPdates are short analytical articles in a series of specific topics utilizing the Technology User Profile Annual Edition study, which reveals the changing patterns of technology adoption around the world. Interested technology professionals can sign up at www.metafacts.com for complimentary TUPdates – periodic snapshots of technology markets.

About MetaFacts

MetaFacts, Inc. is a market research firm focusing exclusively on the technology industries. MetaFacts’ Technology User Profile (TUP) survey is the longest-running, large-scale comprehensive study of its kind, conducted continuously since 1983, the year before Apple released the Apple Macintosh. The detailed results are a primary market sizing and segmentation resource for leading companies providing consumer-oriented technology products and services, such as PCs, printers, software applications, peripherals, consumer electronics, mobile computing, and related services and products. TUP analyzes key trends and the data-rich source can be dived into more deeply for custom analysis. For more information about the syndicated research service, analysis tools, publications and datasets, contact MetaFacts at 1-760-635-4300.