M:Metrics Offers New Mobile Web Measurement Service

Seattle-based M:Metrics, which focuses on mobile analytics, has launched a new research service that directly measures mobile Web access trends.

Called MeterDirect, the service is targeted to programmers, media planners and advertisers needing to know details about the way people are using mobile devices. M:Metrics said MeterDirect will help these people avoid guessing about mobile use trends and behavior “unlocking mobile as a viable medium for advertisers.”

Meter Direct ranks mobile Web activity by site and by demographic composition of Web domains. It also provides rankings showing when — both during the week and during the day — most mobile device users access the Web.

Additionally, the service collects “detailed information about mobile application usage including messaging, title and channel level music and video consumption,” said M:Mobile.

MeterDirect collects data from M:Metrics’ panel of smartphone device owners. The company says its “M:Meter” continuously monitors the panelists’ messaging, browsing, application and media use.
M:Metrics clients who subscribe to MeterDirect view information via an interactive Web interface.

Demonstrating the type of data attainable with the service, M:Metrics released information comparing mobile Web use in the United States with that in the United Kingdom. It said Google is the most popular mobile Web destination in both Britain and America and it noted most people spent more than eight minutes per session each time they accessed the Web, “a surprisingly high figure.”

While mobile users in Europe and Asia are commonly thought to be more advanced when it comes to accessing the Web with their phones, M:Metrics said its panelists in the United States consistently demonstrated “a higher level of daily usage than among British smartphone users.”

There are a number of other differences between mobile Web aficionados in the U.S. and the U.K., according to the MeterDirect results. For example, M:Metrics found that British users tended to access sites operated by their wireless providers more than did Americans, who instead tended to head for Yahoo.com and MSN.com.

Another difference between United States and U.K. mobile Web use, according to M:Media’s MeterDirect findings: “Friday is the most active day for mobile Web use among Americans… while in the United Kingdom, Tuesdays account for the highest level of traffic.

The determinations were based on MeterDirect results for February from about 500 M:Media panelists in the United States and 600 in the United Kingdom.

People who invested in smartphones are outnumbered by those who haven’t. However, when it comes to mobile Web browsing, the smartphone owners dominate, said M:Media.