While public awareness of Apple’s iPhone has been significant since its summer 2007 launch, its influence on consumer purchasing decisions remains up for debate.

To try to better understand the iPhone phenomenon, I took a look at the most recent data from The Nielsen Company’s Mobile Insights survey, which asks 25,000 wireless users every month (a total of 300,000 per year) about their wireless attitudes and experiences, including why they chose their current wireless service.

When the results of 1st quarter of 2009 are compared with the 3rd quarter of 2006 as a control for the “iPhone-effect,” some interesting insights emerge. Q3 2006 was the last quarter without solid iPhone news that could sway consumers in their purchasing behavior.

At first glance, the most striking difference between 2006 and more recent data is what changed and what did not. Price remains the most important factor in choosing wireless service. Yet, even with the prominence of the iPhone, surprisingly the availability of a specific phone stayed flat as the 7th most important factor. While increasing in importance from 2.9% to 6.4% handset-choice alone did not bump up in the rankings. It seems that what makes for an outsize share of newspaper headlines, and congressional and regulatory attention, leaves the average American cold.

Not as surprising, economic factors are increasingly important. Family plans that let consumers call other family members for free and free in-network calling have shot up to near the top. Payment options, including pre-paid and unlimited calling and texting offers, are also substantially more important.

This translates into opportunity for:

• Pre-paid providers such as Tracfone
• Unlimited providers Boost Unlimited, Metro PCS, and Leap, each who offer unlimited calling and texting for as low as $40 per month
• The two largest wireless operators in the U.S. Verizon Wireless and AT&T due to the larger free calling circles

Perhaps the most unexpected outcome is the declining importance of network quality as a major factor from 2nd to 5th place. A testament to the success of its consistent advertising message, the number of consumers who perceive Verizon Wireless as having the best mobile network has shot up over the last two years and it leads its closest competitor now by an almost 2:1 margin. Consumer perception of the carrier’s quality has shot up over the last two years and it remains the single-most important reason consumers choose them. While handsets represent popular topics of conversation, economic factors are actually the major driver in the purchasing process.

• As of April 2009, Nielsen estimates that there are 6.4 million active iPhone users in the U.S., up from 2.1 million a year prior. The most impactful iPhone announcement this week may be the price reduction of $99 for the 8 GB version: cost has been one factor (in addition to AT&T exclusivity) that’s kept the overall iPhone audience modestly sized.
• 37% watch video on their phone (6x as likely as the typical subscriber)
• The iPhone audience is age-diverse: a device this powerful isn’t just for kids. There are roughly as many iPhone users 55 and older as there are 13-24.

• iPhone users look good to mobile marketers. Forty-percent have household incomes of $100K or more – twice the ratio among all subscribers (19%). That income may also be helpful for current iPhone owners who want to upgrade: in-contract iPhone owners may have to pay an additional $200 to upgrade before their contract expires.

• It’s not just for looks. 98% of iPhone users use the data features of their phone, services that should improve with the enhanced speed promised by the iPhone 3G S.

• 88% use the Internet (making them 4x as likely as the typical subscriber)

• 75% download apps (5x as likely as the typical subscriber)

• 72% used location based services (7x as likely as the typical subscriber)

Apple’s announcement came on the heels of the release of the latest so-called “iPhone killer” the Palm Pre smartphone. However, iPhone buzz continues to dominate the blogosphere.

More highlights from Nielsen Online’s Q1 2009 Canadian Mobile Internet Report can be found in the complete media release.

Recession or not, for good reason there is no shortage of innovation in the mobile media industry (e.g. iPhone 3.0, the upcoming Palm Pre). The bottom line: consumers still want more! According to recent research across the U.S. and Western Europe conducted by The Nielsen Company on behalf of Tellabs, consumers are still bullish on the use of the mobile device beyond voice calling services and plan on continuing to adopt and use mobile data services. Of the 200 million current users of advanced mobile data services across the U.S. and Europe, almost 60% intend to use mobile data services more in the next 24 months, and of the millions of non-users, more than 25% intent to adopt mobile data services in the next 24 months.

Not only are U.S. users leading in their expectation of use of the mobile internet, but also in their frequency of use. Seventy one percent of current users expect to use the mobile internet daily, if not several times a day, whereas 41% of Europeans expect to have such a high frequency of use.

What’s driving this trend is consumer’s expectation of how using mobile data services will add convenience and improve their lifestyle, and how this aligns with current capabilities of the mobile platform. Making consumer’s lives easier is the most important factor driving increased use in the U.S.

When conducting the research, we also looked at other lifestyle factors including work, entertainment and socializing. The “work” lifestyle was also a big factor in boosting use of select mobile data services in the U.S. These differences emerge even in the use of software/applications – entertainment was more of a driving factor for use in France, Germany and Spain, but was not as relevant in the U.S.

Given the current capability of the mobile platform and consumer’s current perception of how they would use it, keep your eyes on mobile marketing applications focused on convenience (shopping, coupons, and commerce) first and pure entertainment down the road.

In addition to the increased popularity of the iPhone, Nielsen found that DVRs such as Tivo are showing up in more homes, with penetration up over 50% versus a year ago.  Households with teens were over 30 percent more likely than the average household to own or rent a DVR device.

Download the full report here.

Nielsen’s Q3 2008 Home Technology report measures quarterly survey data on American technology usage and attitudes.  A Nielsen PreView study based on this HTR focused on adoption rates on over 50 current technology devices and technology subscriptions.

Television
-Men typically watch less TV than women their age — with one exception: male teens actually watch more TV than female teens.  Men ages 18 to 34 tend to watch more cable and pay channels, while women gravitate to broadcast networks.

-When it comes to sports programming on TV, men 18-34 are more attentive viewers (+12%) than women of the same age.  But when non-sports programming is on, the reverse is true: males 18-34 are 6% less attentive than their female counterparts.

-In general, men 18-34 are less attentive viewers of both sports (-8%) and non-sports (-10%) TV programs than older men ages 35 and up.

-Men 18-34 are also more receptive to product placements within TV programming than females their age; they report 26% higher brand opinion improvement for advertisers integrated into TV programs.

Online
-Online streaming videos of full-length TV episodes hold the attention of men 18-34 much more than the same programs on TV.

-In general, men 18-34 view more Web pages each month than women their same age (2,353 vs. 2,305 in August 2008).  Men 18-34 also view 63% more individual video streams than women their age (1.4 million vs. 893,000 streams in August 2008).  For their part, women typically spend more minutes watching videos online than men (4.1 minutes vs. 2.4 minutes), who prefer short-form videos on consumer-generated media sites like YouTube. 

Mobile
-Male mobile subscribers ages 18 to 34 are three times as likely as average mobile subscribers to watch video on their phones, and twice as likely as average mobile users to access the mobile Web.

-In Q2 2008, male mobile subscribers ages 18-34 sent and received more than twice as many text messages (531 texts on average, per month) as phone calls (246 calls on average, per month), while women 18-34 made slightly more mobile phone calls than men their age (251 vs. 246 calls per month).


Video Games
-Men ages 18 to 34 averaged approximately 19 gaming sessions in August, with the average session lasting about 66 minutes.  Among all males, men 18-34 accounted for 35% of all minutes played on gaming consoles in August.

-In comparison, women 18-34 logged fewer gaming sessions in August (just over 10, on average), but — like their male counterparts — averaged about 65 minutes of play per session.  Women 18-34 accounted for 39% of all minutes played by females on gaming consoles in August.

Seventeen percent of U.S. households — 20 million homes — have already ditched their home landlines, relying instead on mobile phones, Nielsen reported.

These “wireless substitutors” tend to live in smaller households with just one or two residents and have lower income-levels — 59% have household incomes of $40,000 or less.  A significant number moved (31%) or changed jobs (22%) just before discontinuing their landline service.

“In a tightening economy every dollar counts, and consumers are more and more comfortable with the idea of ditching their landline connection,” Alison LeBreton, vice president of client services, Nielsen Mobile, noted.

The percentage of wireless-only households has grown steadily since 2003, when just 4.2% of U.S. homes had cut their landline service.

Still, Nielsen’s research shows that wireless substitution doesn’t work for everyone.  Ten percent of current landline users experimented with cord-cutting at one point, but eventually reinstated landline service.

View the full press release.

Read the white paper, “Call My Cell: Wireless Substitution in the United States.”

Explore coverage of Nielsen’s findings in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Adweek, MediaPost, Wireless Week, and on CNET.com.

The Vice Presidential message (sent in the late hours of Friday night) is, by many accounts, the single largest mobile marketing event ever in the U.S.

“From a mobile perspective, it makes sense that the campaign chose to use text-messages,” Nic Covey, Director of Insights, Nielsen Mobile, noted. “Today, 116 million U.S. mobile subscribers (52 percent of subscribers) actively use text messaging, making it a new mass medium for marketing efforts.”

Obama’s VP text-message is already being seen as one of the most important text messages ever sent, and one of the most successful brand engagements using mobile media. “The value of the message goes far beyond the 26 words and 2.9 million recipients,” Covey said. “Here, Obama branded himself as cutting edge, inflated the already enormous press attention paid to his VP pick and further established a list of supporters’ most coveted form of contact: their cell phone numbers.”

Read coverage of Nielsen’s findings in Newsday and the Los Angeles Times.

Forbes’ story cited data from Nielsen Mobile showing that men are more likely to surf the mobile Web and watch mobile TV, while women take more photos, send more text and multimedia messages, and download more ringtones than men. 

The story also noted that women, who see their phones as extension of their personalities, are more likely to personalize their phones, while men treat their phones as a tool for keeping up with news and work email.

Learn more about mobile usage gender gaps and read The New York Times’ coverage of Nielsen’s findings.

With cellular phone companies targeting more of their advertising at younger children, and parents worried about children’s safety and ability to communicate in an emergency, the upsurge in mobile phones for younger children is no surprise, the Tribune noted.

On average, each phone adds $28 to a family’s monthly cellular bill, the Tribune reported, citing data from Nielsen Mobile.

Nielsen research also suggests that children are more receptive to advertising delivered via their mobile phones, Nic Covey of Nielsen Mobile told the Tribune.

Get more “tween” mobile use information and back-to-school shopping data from Nielsen Mobile.