The Washington Post reported Tuesday that mobile Web surfing is a big hit with U.S. wireless subscribers, according to a new report by Nielsen Mobile.
The report found that mobile Internet penetration is highest in the U.S., where 15.6% of wireless subscribers use the Internet on their mobile devices. The U.K. followed, with a 12.9% mobile Internet penetration rate, while Italy took the third spot with an 11.9% penetration rate.
Those rates indicate that the mobile Internet market is mature enough to attract advertising, but it may take time for advertisers to migrate …

Digital Response Media reported last week that British Internet users favor MSN Messenger, eBay, and Facebook, according to a recent study conducted by Nielsen Online. The three ranked as the most used websites and applications among Brits in the 12 months ended in May.
The research shows Brits spent an average of more than one billion minutes per month using MSN Messenger, eBay, and Facebook during the last year, while Facebook, YouTube, and Second Life saw the most growth in user minutes.
“Whilst the social media wave continues to have the biggest impact on …

As the two major presidential candidates, John McCain (R-AZ) and Barack Obama (D-IL), battle state-by-state for votes, the Internet has become an increasingly critical outreach method, according to a recent report from Nielsen Online. “Campaigns are no longer dabbling online,” says Jon Gibs, vice president, media analytics, Nielsen Online. “We expect a candidate’s Web presence to be an integral part of both campaigns.”
Both campaigns are spending money on image-based ads and sponsored links in order to reach active web users over 18. Nielsen Online reports that 89% of active web …

On Tuesday, The Nielsen Company released the first U.S. figures showing video and TV usage across the “three screens”: television, the Internet, and mobile devices.
Nielsen’s findings show that TV users are watching more TV than ever before (127 hrs, 15 min per month), while spending 9% more time using the Internet (26 hrs, 26 min per month) than last year.
A small but growing number of Internet and mobile phone users are also watching video online (2 hrs, 19 min per month) and on their cell phones (3 hrs, 15 min …

On Monday, The Nielsen Company announced the release of “Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000” (Doubleday), by Pete Blackshaw, Executive Vice President of Digital Strategic Services, Nielsen Online.  The book, which arrives in bookstores July 8, provides guidance for marketing in the era of Consumer Generated Media (i.e. empowered consumers).
Nielsen will host a webinar preview of the book on July 9.  To register for that event, visit: http://www.netratings.com/resources.jsp?section=event&nav=2.
For more details on the book, visit www.tell3000.com, or read a synopsis of the book in USA Today.

The New York Times reported Thursday that cellphone carriers are reducing the penalty fees levied against customers who switch companies in mid-contract.
That’s good news for the 3.5 million U.S. cellphone users — or 1.4% of the 255 million cellphone users in the U.S., according to Nielsen Mobile — who switch carriers each month. 
It also makes sense for the carriers.  About 25% of the people who switch companies are willing to consider switching back again within a year, Nielsen Mobile reports.  Carriers’ desire to lure back these former customers might explain their growing reluctance …

Broadband users are flocking online to network TV websites, Broadcasting and Cable and The Hollywood Reporter reported Monday.
The stories cited a joint study conducted by Nielsen and the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM), which found that 35% of adults surveyed have watched at least one television program via the Internet.  Of those, 87% have watched television programs directly from a TV network website, while 82% have gone online to catch up on an episode they missed on TV.
But don’t expect online streaming video to replace viewing via traditional TV …

On Monday, Nielsen Mobile released first quarter 2008 smartphone statistics for the U.S.  Among the findings:
 
Smartphone users are predominantly male (59%) and most are between the ages of 25 and 34 (29%) or 35 and 44 (24.5%). 
A third of smartphone users (35.1%) have an annual household income of more than $100,000. 
More than half (52%) keep their phones for personal use, while another 23% say their company foots the bill.
View the Full Nielsen Media Alert: 6-30-08-smartphone-blast.

Despite the growing popularity of viewing television content online, most adults (94%) who subscribe to cable or satellite television services prefer to watch television on traditional TV sets, according to new research conducted by The Nielsen Company for the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM).
One-third of the adult broadband users (35%) surveyed for the Nielsen-CTAM study said they had watched at least one television program originally shown on TV via the Internet. Of those who sought out video content online, 87% watched television programs directly from a TV network …

BCS reports that American consumers are increasingly turning to social networks to share their woes over the continuing economic downturn, according to a recent Nielsen Online study.  The study mapped the trends of worries voiced by U.S. citizens while they are chatting online.
The study also showed that rising fuel costs and the increasing price of food has led some of the U.S. population to go online to share their saving tips with others.