Only one in four of Verizon Wireless’ 83 million long-term-contract mobile subscribers (26%) has a smartphone, according to the carrier. As Silicon Alley Insider sees it, that leaves a lot of market opportunity for Apple’s iPhone, as Verizon prepares to launch the device for its network Feb. 10.
Smartphone adoption is already proceeding apace among Verizon customers. Such devices represented more than 75% of new subscriber additions during the company’s fourth quarter.
At the same time, subscribers looked less to Verizon Wireless as a source for music and video content — an area which the company has soft-peddled in its recent marketing. Yet customers continued to send more text and picture/video messages than ever last year.
Verizon mobile subscribers completed a total of 96 million music and video downloads in 2010 — a 42% decrease from 2009, according to our analysis of the company’s quarterly earnings statements. The total represents roughly one download per account.
Verizon’s traffic in picture and video messages, meanwhile, surged 48% in 2010, with the year-end total topping 16.9 billion. Texting also remains on the rise, with Verizon customers sending 718 billion messages in 2010 (a 22% increase).
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