Mobile audio has lots of room for growth - and an ad-supported model is most attractive when it comes to getting users to consume mobile content - acccording to a new study by Arbitron and Telephia, Ad Age reports.

Though 49 percent of all mobile subscribers are using their phones to text or play games, and for other uses besides voice calls, only one in 16 subscribers is using the devices for their audio features.

But the study indicates that consumers are interested in receiving advertising on their mobile phones - in exchange for free content. "Most current mobile-audio users agree that commercials are a fair price to pay for free content and most prefer free content with commercials to paying a small subscription fee," the report said.

The study also found that most mobile-audio users are age 25-44, with a larger proportion of them African American, Asian and Hispanic.

Surprisingly, the study found 31 percent listened to music on their mobile devices - not on the go, but at home, where the phone served as a "personal third screen entertainment platform," picking up music from other devices, such as PCs.