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Study: Clarity of Internet Phone Audio Still Needs Improvement

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 27, 2006 - 8:01am.
San Mateo, Calif. - While the reliability of Internet telephone services has generally improved over the past several months, the major providers still have plenty of room to improve in terms of audio clarity, according to a new study by Keynote Systems. The firm measured 11 service providers on several performance factors. Though the top providers had improved the quality of their call audio since Keynote's initial study in June, the firm said that it found no significant change in the amount of audio delay present in the calls -- a factor that it said "can lead to conversational disruption." Keynote, in fact, said that Internet phones continue to have up to twice as much audio delay as calls placed on traditional phones. Time Warner Digital Phone ranked first in both reliability and audio clarity in the studies conducted in November and December, edging out Vonage and AT&T CallVantage.
tags: Internet | Audio | Phone | Study | Clarity | Improvement |

Study: 35% of U.S. Parents Are Gamers; Majority Object to Govt. Restrictions

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 26, 2006 - 8:54am.
Washington - Thirty-five percent of American parents say they play computer and video games, according to a national survey conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates on behalf of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), a video game industry trade group. Of these gamer parents, 80% said they play video games with their kids, and 66% said they feel playing games has brought their families closer together. The study found that 36% of gamer parents introduced their children to games, while 23% began playing after their children did; the typical gamer parent is 37 years old. The survey also found that 85% of voting parents (both gamers and non-gamers) said that parents -- as opposed to government, retailers or game publishers -- should take the most responsibility in monitoring the games their kids play. Sixty percent said the government should not regulate game sales to protect minors from violent or sexual content. "This research suggests that proposals to regulate video games may backfire with American voters who, unlike some elected officials, appear to fully understand that they should control the entertainment that comes into their homes," said ESA president Doug Lowenstein.
tags: U.S | Study | Gamers | Parents | Govt. Restrictions |

Study: Internet Search Users Still Prefer Google

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 19, 2006 - 3:29am.
San Mateo, Calif. - Google is still the king of Internet search, according to a new customer experience study released by Keynote Systems. For the fourth straight year, Google topped the firm's rankings by outperforming its competitors in all 13 categories measured, including those for general search quality, local search quality and image search quality. Yahoo Search ranked second, Ask Jeeves third, MSN fourth and AOL's public site fifth. "Despite active competitive maneuverings, Google's challengers have yet to break the leader's grip on consumers' affections, although each of the search engines has their own loyal following," said Bonny Brown, the director of research and public services for Keynote. "The clear appeal of Google's homepage, as well as its presentation of sponsored ads and the overall usefulness of its ads continue to be important factors in Google's continuing success."
tags: Internet | Google | Study |

Study: Parents Agree With Video Game Ratings

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 14, 2005 - 7:27am.
New York - Parents shown video footage samples of video games agreed with the industry's voluntary ratings for the games 82% of the time, while another 5% of the time they regarded the ratings as "too strict," according to a survey conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates on behalf of the industry's Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB), which assigns game ratings. The survey of 400 parents, culled from shopping malls in 10 U.S. cities, showed each parent footage from 8 of 80 randomly selected computer and video games that were assigned ESRB ratings within the past year. "This is a definitive assessment of agreement with the ESRB ratings because it considers the views of those who actually interact with the ratings the most, namely parents of children that play video games," said Jay Campbell, of Peter D. Hart Research Associates. "It is especially impressive that parents' level of agreement with the ratings is as broad as it is deep; parents of children of all ages agree that game ratings are accurate."
tags: Ratings | Video Game | Study | Parents |

Study: Nearly 70% of Ringtones Purchased by Women

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 9, 2005 - 9:21am.
San Francisco - Nearly 70% of all ringtones downloaded are purchased by women, according to a new study by San Francisco-based Telephia, a provider of performance measurement information to the mobile industry. During the most recent quarter, 69% of mobile ringtones were bought by women, compared with just 31% by men. Overall, more than 9% of the wireless population purchased a ringtone during the period. The top five ringtones last quarter included "Hollaback Girl" by Gwen Stefani, "Don't Cha" by The Pussycat Dolls, "Let Me Hold You" by Bow Wow & Omarion, "Just A Lil' Bit" by 50 Cent and "We Belong Together" by Mariah Carey.
tags: Ringtones | Women | Study | Purchases |

Study: In-Game Advertising Found to be Particularly Effective

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 5, 2005 - 11:20am.
New York - In-game advertising, where ads are inserted directly into video game environments and appear on virtual city billboards and as product placements, is particularly effective, according to a study from Nielsen Interactive and in-game ad provider Double Fusion. The study, which examined the effectiveness of Double Fusion's in-game ads within developer Metro3D's PC game "London Taxi," found a 60% increase in awareness for a new product. It also found that in-game animated 3D ads achieved twice the recall of static billboards. Nielsen polled gamers and found that 50% agreed that in-game advertising makes a game more realistic, while 21% disagreed; and that 54% of gamers agreed that in-game advertising "catches your attention" (17% disagreed). "The study provides continued evidence that in-game advertising is a medium which brand managers across categories should be exploring, particularly if they want to reach the highly valuable 18-34 year old male audience," said Nielsen Interactive Entertainment managing director Henry Piney. "What we learned is that even for new brands, the impact that in-game advertising can have is significant."
tags: In-Game | Study | Particularly | Effective |

Study: 70% of U.S. Adults Own Portable Entertainment Devices

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 3, 2005 - 3:53am.
Arlington, Va. - More than 152 million Americans -- about 70% of the total U.S. adult population -- now own portable entertainment devices, according to a new report from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). "The increasing number of consumers who own portable entertainment devices is creating a huge market for handheld content," said Steve Koenig, the CEA's senior manager of industry analysis. "In fact, we estimate that consumers who own these devices will spend $8.3 billion on entertainment content for them in the next 12 months." Study results indicate that listening to music and communicating with others through e-mail are the most common activities for adults using the various devices. Sixty-eight percent of online adults said they used their portable devices to listen to music; the study found MP3 player household penetration has grown to 15%, up from 11% a year ago. The study also found that wireless phones and handheld PCs are the most common devices used to access handheld content, due in part to the wide variety of content available.
tags: Study | U.S. Adults | Portable Entertainment Devices |

Study: Multitasking Youth Prefer Internet Over Radio for Music

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 27, 2005 - 7:28am.
New York - Sixty percent of 13-24 year-olds in 11 countries said they preferred the Internet for music, compared with 20% who preferred radio, according to a study conducted by OMD on behalf of Yahoo. In the U.S., the gap was a bit closer, with 47% saying they prefer the Internet for music while 27% preferred radio. The report indicated that this generation often consumes multiple media formats at the same time, and that "traditional media are often pushed to 'background' status in the 'media-meshing' hierarchy." "A key finding from this study is that members of the My Media Generation can fit up to 44 hours of activities in just one day," said OMD Worldwide president and CEO Joe Uva. "Their ability to perform up to three tasks simultaneously, using multiple technologies, allows them to potentially increase their media consumption during their average waking hours."
tags: Internet | Radio | Music | Study | Multitasking Youth |

Study: More Than One-Third of Mobile Game Downloads Are Free

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 27, 2005 - 7:21am.
San Francisco - About two-thirds (64%) of all mobile games downloaded last quarter cost money, while the remaining one-third was free, according to a new study by San Francisco-based Telephia. The company said that puzzle and strategy mobile games have the highest percentage of free downloads (48%), while consumers paid an average of $4.29 to download action and adventure games, the most of any category. "At this early stage of the game, publishers are employing different strategies with pricing and promotional incentives to learn what will gain the most traction with consumers and deliver the best revenue performance outcome," said Kanishka Agarwal, Telephia's vice president of new products.
tags: Downloads | Free | Mobile Game | Study |

MTV, Jamster to Study Mobile Entertainment Market

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 8, 2005 - 4:50am.
London -- Viacom's MTV Networks International announced on Thursday that it is teaming with Jamster, its mobile entertainment distribution partner and a unit of VeriSign, to study the usage, mechanics and frequency of downloading and streaming entertainment content to mobile phones. The study will also examine consumers' increasing reliance on mobile devices, and their impact on content creation and communication. The companies said that more than $8 billion was spent in the mobile content services market last year. "This new study in collaboration with our mobile content partner, Jamster and Jamba, will enable us to understand how the role of mobile content is evolving around the world and how we can develop compelling, new entertainment that is even more relevant to consumers," said Graham Saxton, senior vice president of MTV Networks International.
tags: MTV | Study | Jamster | Mobile Entertainment Market |

Study: E-mail, Weather, Search Sites Preferred by Mobile Users

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 8, 2005 - 4:39am.
San Francisco -- E-mail, weather and search web sites are the most popular among consumers logging online through their mobile phones, according to a new study by San Francisco-based Telephia. The company said that 4.8% of the 191 million U.S. wireless users accessed web email sites in June. Weather0related sites (3.9%) and search sites (2.9) weren't far behind, followed by sites featuring sports and news and politics. The most popular sites among mobile users included The Weather Channel, Yahoo Mail, MSN Hotmail, Google Search and ESPN. "For people on the go, accessing the Internet through their mobile devices is an extension of their Internet use on their PC," said Kanishka Agarwal, Telephia's vice president of new products. "It is not surprising top mobile Internet categories mirror Internet content categories accessed via a computer."
tags: Weather | Study | E-Mail | Preferred | Search Sites | Mobile Users |

Study: No Strong Link Between Violent Video Games and Aggression

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 16, 2005 - 9:34am.
Champaign, Ill. -- The first long-term study of the effects of playing violent online video games has found that "robust exposure" did not cause any substantial real-world aggression. Conducted by researchers at the Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the study monitored 215 participants, some of whom played 56 hours of the massively multiplayer roleplaying game "Asheron's Call 2" over the course of a month. The results found no statistical difference between players and a non-playing control group in terms of increased argumentative behaviors, and "no strong effects associated with aggression cased by this violent game," according to the study's lead author, Dmitri Williams. "Asheron's Call 2" features "fantasy" violence; Williams conceded that other games featuring violence in outer space or urban environments may yield different outcomes. "I'm not saying some games don't lead to aggression, but I am saying the data are not there yet," added Williams. "Until we have more long-term studies, I don't think we should make strong predictions about long-term effects, especially given this finding."
tags: Study | Violent Video Games | Aggression | Strong Link |

Study: 11% of Blog Readers Use RSS Technology to Manage Feeds

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 15, 2005 - 9:45am.
New York --About 11% of weblog readers use RSS (Really Simple Syndication) to sort through the increasing number of blogs available, according to a new study by Nielsen/NetRatings. The firm said that 5% of blog readers use feed aggregation software and more than 6% percent use a feed aggregating web site to monitor RSS feeds from blogs. "While RSS is an established technology, the growing popularity of blogs has catapulted RSS into the spotlight as a content personalization tool," said Jon Gibs, a senior research manager for Nielsen/NetRatings. The majority of respondents to the survey were less familiar with RSS feeds. Among the other respondents, 23% understood RSS but did not use it, while two-thirds either did not understand the technology or had never heard of it.
tags: Study | Blog Readers | RSS Technology | Feeds |

Study: Consumers Increasingly Buying Electronics Online

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 6, 2005 - 3:15am.
Arlington, Va. -- Online shopping for consumer electronics products is gaining in popularity, according to a new study by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). While an average of 5% of all consumer electronics purchases are made online, certain product categories -- including personal computing, digital cameras, wireless home networking devices and portable music players -- each make more than 10% of their sales through online channels. According to more than 1,000 U.S. adults surveyed by CEA, online consumer electronics shoppers report higher satisfaction with the purchase process than those who visited traditional brick and mortar stores, citing convenience, order accuracy, product variety, product availability and product information among the top reasons. The survey also found that consumers who buy at least some of their products online spend 67% more each year than those who do not make any purchases online. On average, the online buyer spent $1,500 on consumer electronics purchases, with 29% of that spent over the Internet.
tags: Internet | Consumers | Online | Study | Electronics |

Study: Fifth of Newspaper Readers Now Rely on Web Editions

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 16, 2005 - 3:04am.
New York -- More than one-fifth of Internet users who read newspapers now rely primarily on web editions, according to a new study by Nielsen/NetRatings. The firm found that 21% rely on Internet editions, while 72% still access print editions. Another 7% said that they split their time evenly between the online and offline editions. "A significant percentage of newspaper readers have transferred their preference from print to online editions," said Gerry Davidson, a senior media analyst for Nielsen//NetRatings. "Accordingly, many online editions now feature original content and have developed an online strategy that includes online message boards and editorial blogs, which leverage the medium's strengths of interactivity and immediacy."
tags: Study | Rely | Newspaper Readers | Web Editions |

Study: Excessive Graphics Keep Viewers from Understanding News

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 2, 2005 - 3:25am.
Manhattan, Kan. -- Graphics such as scrolling news make it more difficult for TV viewers to understand what's being said by news anchors, according to a new study by research firm Newslab in collaboration with a pair of Kansas State University journalism and mass communications professors.
tags: News | Graphics | Study |

Study: Few Search Engine Users Show Exclusive Allegiance

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 28, 2005 - 3:49am.
New York -- Most people who use Internet search engines don't have an exclusive allegiance to a particular site, according to new research from Nielsen/NetRatings. The firm found that users of the top three search engines -- Google, Yahoo and MSN -- often like to switch off between the sites. Specifically, 58% of Google searchers, 71% of Yahoo searchers and 70% of MSN searchers said that they also have visited at least one of the other top two search engines. "While it shouldn't surprise anyone that Google is the search engine to beat, it is critical that all of the major search players, including Google, recognize that they exclusively own only a minority of their users," said Ken Cassar, the director of strategic analysis at Nielsen/NetRatings. "This highlights an opportunity and a threat to all of the established players in the market, and underscores the importance of continued innovation in a highly competitive market that is anything but mature."
tags: Study | Search Engine | Allegiance |

Study Finds Spam Costs Consumers $22 Billion a Year

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 4, 2005 - 3:14am.
College Park, Md. -- Unwanted "spam" e-mail costs U.S. consumers $21.58 billion a year in lost productivity, according to a new study by the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business and technology research firm Rockbridge Associates. The data indicates that adult consumers spent an average of three minutes deleting spam each day they checked e-mail in 2004. The study's authors reached their dollar figure by multiplying that by the 169.4 million online adults in the U.S., then figuring the worth of 22.9 million lost hours a week based on the average working wage. "We all know that spam is a nuisance, but this allows us to assign a real value to what it is costing U.S. society," said Roland Rust, director of the Smith School's Center for Excellence in Service. "This should serve as a loud wake up call to government and business," said Charles Colby, the president of Rockbridge Associates. The study also found that four out of five adults receive spam on a daily basis, with 14% actually reading the e-mails. About 4% admitted to purchasing a product or service advertised in spam over the past 12 months.
tags: Consumers | Study | Spam |

Study: Parents Find Video Game Ratings "Highly Accurate"

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 22, 2004 - 4:38am.
New York -- The vast majority of parents (83%) agree with video game ratings set by the industry's Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), according to a study conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates on behalf of the industry ratings group. The study showed 401 randomly selected parents a compilation of video footage from 80 recent console and PC games, and asked them to provide their own rating before being told of the ESRB rating. They were then asked to describe the ESRB rating as "about right," "too strict" or "too lenient." Parents found the ratings to be "about right" 83% of the time, and further found them "too strict" 5% of the time. In a separate announcement, eight members of Congress on Monday urged parents to check the ESRB rating on video games before buying them for their children this holiday season. The statement was endorsed by Senators Santorum, Kohl, Allen, and Ensign and Representatives Pelosi, Blunt, Hoyer, and Coble. "The ratings system makes it crystal clear whether or not the content of the video game is appropriate for young children. With such a vast array of games available, parents will be able to find a suitable gift for the all the kids on their list with just a pause to check the ratings," said Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI).
tags: Video Game | Study | Parents | Highly Accurate |

Study: Most People Completely Dependent on Internet

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 23, 2004 - 9:36am.
Sunnyvale, Calif. -- People are so dependent on the Internet that they on average can't go without being online for more than five days, according to a new study funded by Web portal Yahoo. Participants in the Internet Deprivation Study found living without the Internet more difficult than they expected, and in some cases impossible, since they rely so heavily on Web-based tools and services in their daily lives. Nearly half the respondents indicated they could not go without the Internet for more than two weeks, with the average time being just five days. The study also further illustrated the concept of the "digital divide," with three quarters of respondents agreeing that the Internet gives them an advantage over those who don't have access to it, including lower prices, quicker service and more convenience.
tags: Internet | People | Study | Dependent |
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