Twenty-nine percent of mobile phone owners today believe their handset will be the primary device for their entertainment needs in the future, per a new report by Experian Simmons.

Additionally, Experian?s 2011 Mobile Consumer Report found that screen size and limitations on creative present obstacles to mobile advertisers. The obstacles and opportunities make it more important than ever for companies to understand their consumers and the way that they interact with their mobile device. 

?I think that as people become more aware of smartphones and their capabilities, they can untether themselves from traditional wired media,? said John Fetto, Montreal-based senior marketing manager for Experian Simmons.

?They?re able to take their television and online media wherever they go,? he said. ?I think that?s why people think their phones are going to be the primary entertainment device.?

Consumer segmentation
According to the Experian report, the mobile consumers segmentation includes five segments.

The first is Mobirati, which represents the mobile generation and these consumers have grown up with mobile phones and cannot imagine life without them.

The second group is social connectors and communication is central in their lives ? their mobile devices let them keep up-to-date with friends and social events.

Then there are mobile professionals who?s handsets have become their all-in-one device for communication and information needs.

The fourth group is pragmatic adopters. Mobile devices came to be during their adult years.

Finally, there are the basic planners who are not interested in handsets or the world of technology.

Additionally, the report found that while traditional advertising is not for everyone, mobile offers marketers a new avenue for connecting with those who are less receptive to advertising via other media.

?I think it?s probably scary for advertisers,? Mr. Fetto said. ?But I think in the long term it?s going to provide advertisers with a more direct targeting capability.

?Because mobile is such a personal medium the information we can know about consumer behavior is also very personal,? he said. ?I think also adding tracking and location information can provide marketers with a more meaningful way to connect with consumers.?

?We have even seen in our own consumer research evolution in the attitudes of the usefulness of using such tracking information.?

Mocial
According to Experian, the world of mobile and social is becoming intertwined.

Monthly visits to social networking sites have risen to 76 percent of the online adult population today ? up from 54 percent in 2008, which is a relative increase of 42 percent.

Today, 20 percent of social networks access their account from a mobile phone each month ? up from 11 percent who did so in 2008.

?[The trends we?re seeing are] really the merger of mobile and social,? Mr. Fetto said. ?Mobile and social are coming together in a way that?s going to be very difficult to separate in the future.

?I think social is providing a lot of media to people and it?s also more meaningful,? he said. ?Having social networking capabilities on your phone is a good way for consumers to provide a lot of feedback, good or bad to businesses.?