The global love affair with text messaging shows no sign of
cooling off, with a 30% annual increase in the number of mobile
phone messages being sent, new figures show.
Some 212,616,000 SMS text messages are being sent every day,
according to the
Mobile Data
Association.
The industry association said that the number of texts sent in
the year to May saw an annual rise of 30%. "SMS has established
itself as a true social connecting tool, and continues to have mass
consumer appeal," it said.
MDA chairman Steve Reynolds said, "Text messaging has been,
without question, one of the great success stories of the mobile
age both for the industry and consumer."
More than 10 million pictures and video messaging (MMS) are
being sent every week, and the annual figure to May 2008 is also up
by 30%.
However, another
survey two months ago showed that e-mail is the preferred
communication tool of two-thirds of people, many more than those
who put texting at the top.
Habeas, a secure e-mail
service provider, commissioned that survey from
Ipsos.
