Facebook leads the pack in terms of adoption as non-voice use of mobile phones soars

Across Europe, Facebook is increasingly becoming the preferred platform as far as mobile phone users are concerned. On top of being one of the top three messaging/email service providers, Facebook is poised to emerge as a major destination for viewing video clips, according to a study. Services offered by Facebook are being seen to be well placed to gain more popularity than its rivals in Apple, Google and Microsoft.
Emergence of Facebook stands to put pressure on local social networks across all markets. In Spain, Facebook has twice as many mobile users as Tuenti while Facebook users in Germany constitute three times the number of mobile users compared to local sites. Although, Hyves in the Netherlands is the major local player in Western Europe, Facebook is predicted to challenge it as well.
Increasing number of smartphones across Europe has see new ways by which mobile users use their phones. Survey respondents who participated in the study were understood to listen to music, play games and browse the Web on their mobile phones, while e-mail and social networking also constituted major indulgences.
The age group between 24 to 35 years who are mostly likely to own multiple devices and are tech-savvy and have more disposable income to spend on the latest services; usually, taken for the most niche target for mobile services. However, the over-35 years of age users are also believed to deserve greater focus now.
In the hindsight, for years the industry has been obsessed with 16 to 24 year olds, but rapid adoption of smartphones by an older audience means it is time to focus an older demographic for mobile services.