NEW DELHI - Text messages, listening to music and surfing the Internet are the most popular activities of the Indian mobile user, while work-related tasks such as checking emails and managing meetings take a backseat, according to a report by a leading IT publication group.

“SMS was one of the most popular mobile application with an overwhelming 92 percent respondents using it,” said the report by specialist IT media house Cybermedia.

“Over half the respondents used their mobile phones for listening to music, taking photos, surfing the Internet from their mobiles, and playing games. Slightly less than half engaged in work-related tasks,” it contended.

The survey found about 8 percent of mobile users were dissatisfied with their telecom service providers, with a bulk of them saying they would switch operators if allowed to retain their phone numbers.

“About 40 percent of mobile users would change their operator if they could keep their existing number,” said the survey report.

The survey conducted across 150 Indian cities quizzed more than 1,000 respondents about their mobile phone usage and buying behaviour.

“More than one-third of the respondents were completely satisfied with their current mobile phones while one-fifth were not too happy with the current handsets, indicating that they may look for a change in the future,” the report said.

About 85 percent of the respondents stressed on features and functionality to be extremely important, while only 42 percent opted for looks and styles.

A majority of respondents changed their mobile phone once every two years, while 28 percent changed once a year, the survey found.

Almost half of them were willing to shell out between Rs.10,000-Rs.30,000 for a new handset. For another 11 percent, price didn’t matter as long as they found what they liked.