SAN DIEGO, Oct. 28, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- The end of October marks the time when many living humans celebrate Halloween, Day of the Dead, All Hallows Eve, All Souls Day, or a number of other observances that give a tip-of-the-lid to the dearly departed. A survey of the largest community of mobile phone users in the world confirmed that the dates surrounding October 31 are of grave importance to people above the sod. Today's SMS.ac poll is found at www.sms.ac.
SMS.ac has registered users in 220 countries and the San Diego-based wireless communications company surveys its users daily, on a wide variety of issues. For instance, when asked if they expect to send out text (SMS) messages in October that convey a Halloween-related theme, 77.1% of 42,238 respondents replied affirmatively. And 69.8% of those said they intend to send out 20 or more messages that deliver a spooky theme.
"We've seen the number of text messages sent during October rise steadily during the month," said Michael Pousti, chairman and chief executive officer at SMS.ac. "And if last year is any indication, we can expect a surge in messaging this week. The number of text messages exchanged rose 42% during the week of Halloween 2002, when compared to the previous week.
"People look for opportunities to communicate," added Pousti. "This is especially evident at this time of year, when folks are looking to get noticed, sometimes in macabre ways. I've had some wonderfully scary stories sent to my mobile phone this year."
A fascination with the paranormal is pervasive at smsClubs (www.sms.ac), where one club titled "Ghost Stories and Strange Tales," has more than 450 members from around the world. The club's founder (faith86) says, "You will love this club that will scare you to death. We want you to share your scariest ghost stories and mysteries. They can be true, or they can entertain. Vampires, ghosts, hauntings, witches, visitations from the dead... anything goes!"
72.9% of 39,644 respondents to a recent SMS.ac survey said they believe in spirits, ghosts and life-after-death. In a related poll, 43.1% of 38,906 participants claim that they have experienced a ghostly or unexplained paranormal experience.
Do mobile phone users like to watch scary (science fiction) movies? It appears they do. 75.1% of 39,780 SMS.ac members polled said they like tuning-in to movies or television programs that are frightening. And in the absence of garlic or holy water (used to ward-off vampires and werewolves), confidence in mobile phones rates high as a rescue mechanism. 86.6% of 42,164 polled replied that they feel safer when traveling with a mobile phone.
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About SMS.ac
SMS.ac, Inc. is a wireless communications company whose proprietary MMSbox technology enables the exchange of text (SMS) and multimedia (MMS) mobile communications across any technology platform and deliverable to any enabled wireless device. A demonstration of MMSbox technology is available at www.sms.ac. With more than 10 million registered users in 220 countries, SMS.ac is host to the largest community of mobile phone users in the world. Additionally, SMS.ac offers connectivity to more than 400 mobile networks worldwide. Through its global initiatives, SMS.ac is igniting the widespread adoption and use of wireless data.
SMS.ac derives revenues through shared revenue relationships with mobile operators around the world. Revenues are also realized from mobile advertisements, technology licensing, subscriptions, sponsorships and other streams. SMS.ac's consumer site (www.sms.ac) is an example of the brandable web interfaces to MMSbox(tm) technologies available for licensing. SMS.ac and MMSbox are trademarks of SMS.ac, Incorporated. Other trademarks or service marks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners. To view the SMS.ac corporate web site, visit www.sms.ac/corporate.