Users don't want to listen to MP3s on their mobile phones?

Could I be wrong about the inevitability of MP3 players converging with mobile phones?

According to this article a recent survey on gadget, gear and gizmo website Pocket-lint.co.uk:

...asked whether readers listened to MP3s on their mobile phone and if no, would it be something they would consider doing

...a whopping 72% of entrants said that even if they had the chance to listen to their favourite tracks on their mobile, they wouldn’t bother.

Over three-quarters (77%) of the entrants that took the survey said that they don't currently listen to music on their phone with only 23% admitting that they do.

There is some hope though. Of those that said they don't currently listen to music, 23% said that they would consider it with a further 5% not sure for the time being.

The news will come as a shock to the industry, which seems focused on creating mobile phones with music playing capabilities.

In this article from the BBC about another survey the news is not good either:

The Leading Question survey also asked 600 music fans what devices they would be buying in the next year.

A third planned to buy a dedicated MP3 player, while just 8% said they would be buying an MP3-enabled phone.

Reasons cited for not purchasing a music playing phone included worries about battery life and concerns about losing the handset, and potentially their music collection.

The fact that phones tend to be frequently replaced also meant people had a low emotional attachment to them.

So there still seems to be some technological and social hurdles to get over before MP3 phones are embraced.

The article does end with:

There is a huge potential market for MP3 phones. The survey found that 38% were interested in downloading full tracks to their mobile phones.

In this article, a survey looking at "Important functions consumers want to have on most frequently used mobile devices" listening to music wasn't very high on the list.

However, I did read this article about the highly successful launch of the Japanes iTunes music store that said:

According to the Recording Industry Association of Japan, music downloads on mobile phones easily outstripped those to digital music players during the first half of this year. The downloads, mainly of ring tones but also of entire songs, totalled 108.9 million, compared with just 2.2 million downloads from the internet, the association says.

suggesting the Japanese are big on receiving music on their phones.

It will be interesting to see what all this means for the Motorola's iTunes-equipped E790 phone that is rumoured to be coming out shortly.