Americans Say No Single Wireless Device Can Do It All

More than half of people surveyed by a national Yankelovich poll released today said that if given the choice, they would carry more than one wireless device (in fact, 25% said they would carry 3 or 4 devices). Commissioned by LetsTalk.com, a corporate wireless procurement solutions provider, the study also showed that Americans are divided as to which device -- a PDA or 2-way email device like the RIM Blackberry -- best complements a phone.

"This survey shows that in the minds of Americans -- no single device can manage all different functionalities of a cell phone, a portable email device or a wireless PDA," said Delly Tamer, president and CEO of LetsTalk.com. "Americans are willing to carry several mobile devices in order to have access to key communication tools and to increase their productivity."

Yankelovich Partners conducted the survey between Feb. 15 and Feb. 18, 2001 interviewing a representative sample of 1,023 Americans age 18 or older. Each respondent was asked to choose which device(s) they would be willing to carry around with them if price was not a consideration: a wireless phone, two-way email device such as a RIM Blackberry, Handheld PDA such as a Palm or Visor, or one-way pager.

-- 53% of respondents wanted more than one device

-- 34% wanted one device

-- 11% didn't want any device at all, even if it were given to them for free

When the responses were broken down by device:

-- 82% wanted a cell phone

-- 35% wanted a two-way email device

-- 30% wanted a handheld PDA

-- 11% didn't want any device at all

Of the subset of respondents who wanted a device to complement their wireless phone:

-- 37% chose a 2-way email device like the RIM Blackberry

-- 32% chose a PDA

-- 31% chose all three: a phone, PDA and Blackberry

Tamer will further explore the convergence of wireless phones and PDAs in a panel he's moderating entitled "Wireless Web: What's the Device?" at this year's CTIA Global Wireless 2001 in Las Vegas on March 20, from 1:00 to 2:30 pm. CTIA Global Wireless 2001 is the largest and most comprehensive wireless trade show in the United States.


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