About one in four mobile phone owners would like to be able to find out the availability of their contacts (available, busy on a call, unavailable), with 27 percent of them rating this a very appealing option. Eighteen percent would be very interested in the ability to determine the current location of persons on their contact list and 14 percent would like to be able to find out where their contacts had been recently. When asked how they feel about other people having this information about them, the majority of those surveyed say such services are an invasion of privacy.
These are just some of the results of a recent survey of 1,028 U.S. adults conducted online by Harris Interactive between November 30 and December 11, 2006.
Just over half (58 percent) would want their spouse or significant other to know where they are and whether they are available, while fewer would want children (46 percent) or other family members (43 percent) to have this information, and only a handful would want their co-workers (6 percent) or employers (5 percent) to have it.
Currently, awareness and immediate purchase intent for LBS and presence services are low. In all, only 4 percent would switch wireless carriers tomorrow to have these features. But three in 10 consumers say they would be interested in more information.
"We expect these technologies eventually to catch on," said Joe Porus, VP and chief architect with Harris Interactive's Technology and Telecom Practice. "But providers must give users control over location-based features to allay privacy concerns." Milt Ellis, VP and sr. consultant with the practice, added, "For marketers of these services, the key initially is to target groups of users -- such as teenagers, busy executives, delivery and emergency service personnel -- who value the benefits of being connected more than they worry about privacy."
