Happy Anniversary, M:Metrics!

Measurement firm grows in stride with mobile media industry with over 200 clients, seven countries under measurement and three global offices

SEATTLE, Wash March 7, 2008 — Today, M:Metrics celebrates the third anniversary of its launch and inaugural Benchmark Report. The measurement firm reports explosive growth over the past three years, in clients, services, geographies, technologies and methodologies.

M:Metrics was founded in late 2004 by new media measurement visionary Will Hodgman and Seamus McAteer, a preeminent mobile industry analyst, to establish audience metrics for mobile content consumption. M:Metrics’ commercial launch was on March 7, 2005, at which time the firm first revealed definitive metrics on who consumes what content on which device, across whose network in the United States.

At launch, the mobile content sector was young and promising, with expectations high but device capabilities low. For example:

“Over the past three years, we have seen a significant evolution in device capabilities and adoption of significantly more capable handsets by mobile subscribers, which have been key drivers of increased use of the mobile medium,” said McAteer.

With 54.2 million subscribers, 3G penetration grew from virtually nothing to 25 percent subscriber penetration from January 2005 through January 2008 in the United States. Smartphone growth followed a similar trajectory.

Growth in penetration jumped by a factor of 3.5 from January 2005, when only 2.9 million people owned a phone running the Windows, Symbian, Palm, RIM or Apple operating system, to the same period three years later. Today, 14.3 million people own a smartphone, and smartphone users account for over 25 percent of all mobile Internet consumption.

“The effect of smartphones and 3G is similar to that of the diffusion of low cost broadband Internet into U.S. households,” said McAteer. “Higher bandwidth networks, full HTML browsers and large, high-quality screens transform the mobile device from a terminal for voice and simple text to the nexus of a consumer’s digital life. Consumption patterns are changing rapidly as these broadband-connected devices are reaching the mass market.”

While devices were getting smarter, so were mobile industry executives from the more than 200 companies that today subscribe to M:Metrics’ five syndicated data services. M:Metrics clients include leading operators, device makers, technology providers, content producers, media companies and advertising agencies. With seven countries under measurement: China, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States, M:Metrics clients span the globe. The company has offices in Seattle, San Francisco and London.

“We began working with M:Metrics in 2004 when publishers had very little understanding of consumer behavior driving the burgeoning mobile content market," said Matt Liszt, vice president of strategic marketing, Glu Mobile. "M:Metrics has been a great partner for Glu in understanding the complexity of the mobile market and developing services that help us stay ahead of the rapidly evolving industry."

The firm also announced that it has hired Mark Klebanoff as CFO to steward the company through its rampant growth. Prior to joining M:Metrics, Klebanoff was CFO of AccessLine, after serving the company as a board member and managing director of Alexander Hutton Venture Partners. Klebanoff was previously the first CFO of RealNetworks, where he was instrumental in the company’s 1997 IPO.

“The achievements this company has accomplished are astonishing,” said Will Hodgman, CEO and co-founder, M:Metrics. “In addition to the consumer research we’ve conducted, M:Metrics has been a great partner for Glu in understanding the complexity of the mobile market and developing services that help us stay ahead of the rapidly evolving industry.”

About M:Metrics
M:Metrics is the mobile media authority. As the only research firm to measure the audience for mobile media, M:Metrics provides the most accurate metrics on actual mobile content consumption by applying trusted media measurement methodologies to the mobile market. M:Metrics’ monthly syndicated data service gives clients the critical insights and intelligence required to inform smart business strategies and the competitive benchmarks needed to evaluate the performance of competitors and partners. M:Metrics is a private, venture-funded corporation headquartered in Seattle, with offices in San Francisco and London.

About M:Metrics Data
Based on continually refreshed samples of nationally representative mobile phone consumers, M:Metrics reports summarise market size, device reach, and key demographic and mobile phone usage characteristics. The data presented here is drawn from an extensive survey questionnaire that collects specific device model and carrier subscription information from each month’s sample of mobile phone subscribers, and also drills down into specific details related to current and past usage of various mobile phone applications and content. Data collected from each sample are statistically balanced and projected to the total national population of mobile phone subscribers.

Authorized Uses
Members of the press may cite research data or a portion of text provided that each is sourced to M:Metrics, for example, "Source: M:Metrics, Inc." or “According to M:Metrics, . . .”. Copies of graphs, data tables or slides must include the following copyright notice affixed to all material: "Copyright © 2008, M:Metrics, Inc.”