Tuesday October 6, 2009
Surf anytime with mobile data
TRUSTY GADGETS: We use our mobile devices not only for making calls and SMS, but also for news updates, navigation, communications, e-mail, gaming and entertainment. SMARTPHONES are increasingly playing an integral part in the everyday lives of consumers and even in today’s challenging economic climate, we cannot seem to live without our trusty devices.
We use our mobile devices not only for making calls and SMS, but also for news updates, navigation, communications, e-mail, gaming and entertainment.
In line with consumer demand, mobile data usage has increased significantly in the past few years. A global research report indicates that the number of messages sent through mobile devices have exceeded those sent from personal computers. In North America, nearly 70% of those accessing e-mail on their mobile phones do it on a daily basis.
In the music space, more and more consumers are using mobile phones for music downloads such as caller ringtones, true tones, polyphonic ringtones as well as full songs.
Meanwhile, Mobile Instant Messaging (MIM) is another exciting feature that is experiencing strong growth with 13% of global mobile phone users now using this feature, compared to 8% last year.
Mobile data on the rise
The range of smartphones today has also encouraged mobile data usage. The BlackBerry, best known for its e-mail messaging capabilities and other business solutions; and the iPhone 3Gs, which offers 50,000 applications on an innovative touchscreen interface, have changed the way we communicate at work and play.
These innovative devices have transformed the mobile experience for customers, keeping them connected and entertained.
According to Maxis, many people mistakenly think that mobile data services are expensive, and that it is hard to track usage. The truth is that there are service packages that consumers can subscribe to that prevent bill shocks later.
For instance, Maxis recently introduced mobile Internet connectivity by time packages that make the whole mobile data experience more customer-friendly. In a first for the industry, customers are charged based on surfing time and packages begin from RM2 per hour to RM8 per day, the company said.
Education efforts
Maxis said that it also regularly educates consumers about mobile data applications which keep them connected, informed and entertained.
Last year, Maxis launched the Maxis Experiential Lounge in Penang, and this year the company established its Hotlink Mobile Playground in six colleges nationwide.
For a period of three months, the Maxis Experiential Lounge offered consumers an interactive experience with popular mobile Internet applications such as Friendster, Facebook, Yahoo!, MySpace and Flickr.
The Hotlink Mobile Playground was introduced at selected private institutions of higher learning within the Klang Valley, and allowed students to experience first-hand the latest in mobile data services.
The experiential area allowed students to browse the Internet, games, and music on specially set-up mobile phones for free. The objective was to reach out to youths and meet their demands for more engagement and information.
Currently, Maxis claims to offer the widest range of mobile data products and services and has the largest base of mobile data users in Malaysia.
The company revealed that over 40% of its customers regularly access mobile Internet services each month via 3G/HSDPA, EDGE and GPRS services.
-- The Mobile Internet Adoption initiative was formed with the objective of moving Malaysians towards Mobile Internet. It is a collaboration of Star Publications, Sin Chew Media Corp, Utusan Malaysia, Maxis Communications and Aegis Media. For the period Aug 31-Oct 31, Maxis will waive data charges for its subscribers who visit the three newspapers’ WAP portals, which can be accessed at:
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