WebProNews

There were 46.1 million mobile data users in the U.S. that used mobile search functions in the third quarter of 2007 according to a report by The Nielsen Company examining the mobile search behavior of wireless subscribers.

The most widely used form of mobile search was 411 used by 18.1 million users, followed closely by SMS based searching used by 14.1 million users. Local listings were the leading search objective in terms of users with 27.1 million. Close to 15 million (14.8) said they searched for information about news, weather, sports scores, while 11.3 million said they searched for mobile content.

  "As more mobile users turn to their phone for the answers they need, mobile search has quickly escalated as a critical part of the mobile media and advertising landscape," said Kanishka Agarwal, VP of Mobile Media for Nielsen Mobile.

"Knowing how mobile searchers find information -- and what they're looking for -- will help us intelligently engage with consumers through mobile search."

Demographics vary by search method. Sixty-one percent of 411 search users are female, while 60 percent of WAP search users are male. SMS-based searching skews younger when compared to other methods of search. Thirty-three percent of SMS searchers are under 25.

For the report Nielsen surveyed over 5,700 mobile search users who use at least one mobile data service.