The kids just want to text

Teenagers don't want fancy mobile applications - SMS and voicemail is enough for most, according to research out this week.

Focus groups run by Mobeon Labs with Swedes aged 16 to 19 has found this age group likes to use mobiles for gossip and arranging to meet up.

Mobeon, a Swedish mobile messaging vendor, does go on to say it could just be that many youngsters don't know about other types of services such as video calling but suggests that even when they do, it's a hard sell for operators. Teenagers have traditionally been considered early adopters of some mobile services.

An unrelated study out today from analysts Frost and Sullivan forecasts a bright future for mobile instant messaging (MIM). The idea is that presence information that automatically includes location, being able tell that a colleague has their phone on but is at home rather than at the office, for example, will lead to the right form of communication being used - a text rather than a voice call, perhaps.

While only worth €24.4m this year, F&S estimates the market for MIM will be worth €1.6bn by 2010.