PDA users ‘more worried by muggings than viruses’

These findings come from the award-winning online reseller WStore, which has announced the results of a survey of its customers into their use of these devices.

The survey, which was sent out to over 15,000 WStore customers, asked about usage and ownership, as well as looking into the reasons why some respondents are not interested in adopting the use of mobile technology.

The threat of viruses and hacking may occasionally grab the headlines in the press, but it appears to be a minimal concern to users; only 15% of respondents identified this as an actual threat.

Of greater concern was that their handheld might attract unwanted attention, with 32% saying they worry about it becoming a target for muggers and/or thieves.

Among those respondents who do not currently use a mobile computing device, there were several main reasons cited for not having one. These ranged from "handsets are too expensive" (30%), fears of work invading personal lives (35%), and a reluctance on the part of employers to provide devices for their workforce (37%).

Even so, 62% recognise that they are now better equipped to do their job more efficiently, thanks to their handheld. The motivation to acquire a handheld was, for 59% of respondents, the need to stay in touch with work during regular periods of remote working.

Although 52% of respondents said they use their handheld only for business purposes, 40% said it was used for a mix of business and personal purposes, which leads to the issue of "scope-creep" – the extent to which business needs start to leak into the personal lives of users via their smart-phone or PDA.

Asked whether this was an issue they faced, 40% of respondents agreed with the following statement: my mobile device has meant that I am now working during non-office hours.

A further 15% felt more strongly that as a direct result of their use of a mobile computing device, they are now "under pressure to be available for work" during non-business hours.

Perhaps surprisingly, the availability of accessories and the ability to listen to music were of little interest to the WStore survey's respondents. Only 1% said accessories were important, with just 2% citing the inclusion of an MP3 player as relevant to their choice of handset.

However, design was said to be the "thing I like best about it" by 23% of respondents, with "ease of use" getting the thumbs-up from 42%.

Stewart Hayward, WStore Commercial Director, said: "WStore strives to stay in touch with customers' attitudes and opinions. The use of mobile computing devices has been a real growth area in recent years and this makes it all the more important for us to be in tune with what businesses want. We are not a supplier that tries to force customers into buying what we think they should have; we work hard to supply the right technology to help them maximise their business performance."