Phone loss 'devastating' to 9 out of 10: so where's the data protection?

The research questioned 4,000 people in the UK and US about mobile issues, and most of the questions were designed to pin down the growing value of the mobile phone.

So it discovered that 65 per cent of mobile users store address and other contact information on their phones; 83 per cent digital photos, 51 per cent videos, 48 per cent use the calendar and 40 per cent music downloads. These figures are probably a bit higher than expected given that other surveys show that many users don't exploit the fullcapabilities of their phones because they find them difficult to navigate.

In all, the answers pointed to a real bedding in of the mobile as lifestyle platform for many users, not just a gadget for communicating... again not terribly surprising.

But the answers that should make keen observers sit up and take notice relate to what happens when/if a phone is lost. 91 per cent of users said they would be "devastated" if they lost their mobile phones. Even allowing for modern day language usage (devastating describes anything from mild annoyance through to major loss) that's a remarkable figure.

About 75 per cent of the people polled said they'd take a whole day to get a new phone fully and and running with personal data after theft or loss and most said that that was unacceptable and it should take two hours or less.

The trick being missed here is that users increasingly see their mobile service as a lifestyle platform (whether they know it or not) but operators still seem to think they're selling them gadgets and minutes.