New Motorola survey demonstrates real-world impact of 3G

Third-generation (3G) mobile phones are inspiring their own rules, behaviours and communities, says a new report by Motorola

Are you the leading wo/man who enjoys the spotlight and embraces the new videophone age? Or the no-show who shuns it for fear of being caught out in places that are hard to explain? How is etiquette muscling in on the next-generation of mobile phones and why are grandparents buying not one but two devices to be part of the action?

From the discovery of new trends and whole phone communities to the evolution of e-novels and the instant postcard, Motorola’s global survey of 3G users explores the human side of next-generation mobiles. The Generation HERE report published today reveals that the take-up of the latest super-handsets and services is not only growing, but is also fundamentally changing the way in which users live and communicate.

Dozens of writers and journalists travelled the world to interview and observe 3G users in different cultures for Generation HERE. This methodology, Motorola says, led to a report that had a qualitative rather than quantitative approach to give a fuller picture of the 3G world.

“This was a report about nuances,” explains its editor Peter Lyle. “Behaviour and adaptation, creative and unexpected usage. Ultimately it isn’t difficult to get statistics about penetration, but those statistics, although they still have relevance, do not tell the whole story of how a new technology impacts upon people’s lives.”

Generation HERE uncovered a surprising 3G age range among users. While it is typical to see teenagers using their mobiles to access community services like Japan’s Mixi and Sweden’s LunarStorm, the report’s research team also spoke to Japanese grandparents who keep two 3G phones – one for themselves, and the other for recording and sharing pictures and videos of their grandchildren.

“Generation HERE is an exercise in gathering stories and recognising patterns,” says Douglas Hunter, consumer insights manager, Motorola Mobile Devices Europe. “We conceived it as a snapshot of how people are responding to 3G here and now, and of how they see its future. And there’s surprisingly little material out there that approaches the technology – any technology, in fact – in that way. So in a way we’ve learnt as much from it as anyone else.”

An exclusive podcast featuring in depth discussion of Motorola’s Generation HERE with researcher Stephen Armstrong is available for download at The Podcast Network (TPN).