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The majority (70%) of mobile phone owners, with data services accessed information via mobile search engines last year,representing a 14 percent increase over 2007, according to ABI Research.

The use of mobile data services, including search, has steadily increased year over year. The increase in mobile search usage is nearly double the increase in users who said they accessed mobile Web sites generally.

Jeff Orr
Senior Analyst
ABI Research

 "Mobile search represents a utility for information anytime and anywhere," said Jeff Orr, senior analyst, ABI Research.

"With a few keywords, one can quickly identify movie times, the discography of a musical artist, recommendations for a local eatery and so much more."

Some types of content accessed using mobile phone increased in popularity from 2007 to 2008. Popular content included news, game downloads, music downloads, and video downloads.

A significantly lower percentage of mobile users in 2008 downloaded a ringtone compared to the previous year, while the interest in local information, social networking and sports remained about the same.

"Use of the mobile phone goes well beyond voice calls," said Orr. "A significant percentage of respondents say they use their handset for mobile email and web access, reflecting the broader access to inexpensive or all-you-can-eat mobile data services in the US."