The use of mobile applications and rich content is on the rise in Australia according to recent research. The latest report from the Australian Interactive Media Industry Association (AIMIA) on mobile phone usage shows that consumers increasingly use their handsets to take pictures and make videos, as well as share them with other people.

“We are witnessing the growth of the mobile phone in people’s lives as it starts to pack more ‘smarts’ and deliver on the promise of vibrant, on-demand information and entertainment”, says John Butterworth, CEO of the AIMIA.

Mobile phone users have come a long way since Martin Cooper made the first ever call on a 1kg portable phone in 1973. More than 35 years later, Australian mobile phone users are not only making voice calls and sending text messages, but also creating and sharing content, accessing news, weather, sports information and maps, buying games and downloading music.

“People are looking for a gamut of services much like we do on the PC”, said Dr Marisa Maio Mackay, the report’s author.

More than half of the AIMIA’s 2097 survey respondents had used their phones in the last 12 months to access photos, music, videos or blogs created by others. A third of the respondents said they had created content such as photos, music or videos to share with others.

“One of the more striking findings of the report”, said Maio Mackay, “is that a lot of people do not actually know if they have a 3G phone or not. This is a reflection that carriers are shifting their communication focus away from the 3G technology towards the types of services that the technology offers.

“The technology doesn’t mean anything to mobile phone users, rather it is what the technology can do and deliver which matters to them.”

The survey also revealed a huge increase in mobile phone users accessing maps and restaurant and cafe reviews from their handsets, with demand for location services and reviews increasing by 347 per cent and 174 per cent, respectively, over the last 12 months.