Mobile use: who is using apps and which type of apps? (#mobile #appsma )

59% of all smartphone users are downloading applications. On top, the mobile phone has become a commodity, everybody owns one and a large part of you, even more than 1. Time to give an overview of who is using applications, do you need to focus on iPhone & iPad only? The answer is clearly no, the market outside Apple is alive and kicking (and if you serve ads, you'd better NOT focus on iPhone users), time to give you some numbers...

Source: Nielsen app Playbook report, presented at the AppNation Conference in San Francisco, September 2010.

Key take aways:"

A is for Android and Ads:

• Android owners show a clear preference for free apps. This may be due in part to the browsing interface on the Android Market, which makes it easy to browse free titles exclusively. However, we also know that Android owners tend to be younger and less affluent than iPhone users. Either way, they are more likely to click on an ad within an app, and that spells a clear monetization strategy for anyone targeting the fast growing Android user base.

B is for BlackBerry:

• Despite a huge installed base, Blackberry app usage lags the iPhone. It remains to be seen whether RIM’s new devices and revamped store will persuade BlackBerry owners to embrace mobile apps.

C is for Consumer Convenience, Carriers and Credit Cards:

• Consumers crave convenience, security, and consolidated bills when it comes to paying for their mobile apps. Carriers and credit card companies should already have consumers’ trust and are eager to carve out a central role in a world often eager to pass them by.

T is for Teens:

• The young continue to be more receptive to mobile advertising than their elders. Will they continue to be more receptive as they age due to their comfort with technology, or will time temper their openness to mobile ads? Alternatively, will older generations become more receptive as they gain more experience with mobile? Future research should shed light on this issue.

T is also for Third Parties:

• Apps users value the recommendations of third parties, whether it is a family member, a friend, or a site or service offering ratings and reviews. Those seeking to market mobile apps would be well advised to emphasize two tactics: Word-of-mouth marketing (including social media) and securing favorable ratings and reviews."

Some more remarkable facts:

• industries like travel, food, health care lag enormously behind. Is this because there are fewer apps and the industries not picking up the trend, or is the quality lower? Which way the cookie crumbles, those industries are missing the boat right now.
• Facebook: not only dominating the desktop space, but also the mobile. So it's double important that being present on Facebook is crucial in your marketing mix.
• people look for apps on their mobile!!! Family and friends do play a role in the decision as well, but don't think that people search first on their desktop and than go mobile.
• Windows mobile users and iPhone users are equally as quickly to convert from lite/trial versions, to paying full versions (EQUALLY!)
•  Blackberry users are slowing down in the evolution curve.
• Convenience is the driver for giving apps, not security, nore consolidating bills
• the older the user, the less likely the person will look at advertising and you'd better target android and windows mobile users when wanting that people click. iPhone is following on third place.

Thanks to Nielsen, you can download the full report here

 

 

Comments

[Mobile Reviews]

These graphs helps us a lot about Mobile apps.. Great Mobile Apps review dude:-)

[teja]

I am very addictive to games especially computer games, but while travelling we can’t carry the

laptop though we carry the laptop it won’t be comfort playing games and was thinking of Mobile

games and luckily found your website, really I am very very Happy and Thanks a ton for making

this Mobile apps.

[Samantha Cole]

I expected that chart to look that way. A lot of people love to have fun! They'd buy a Blackberry or an iPhone4 mostly for games, but in my opinion, I'd use a smartphone for work purposes like organizers, email managers, and stuff like that. Now that our company has setup an Enterprise Server, we can definitely handle our work emails and documents even when we're on the go. By the way, I can say that the social networking apps are really useful for a small business since they can send updates anytime they want, and even read customer feedback every now and then.

[Glenn Evans]

Well, with the mobile app industry booming, most especially in the field of gaming, it's no surprise that smartphone owners would want to utilize them.

[Justin Than]

Its amazing how many smart phones there are now, Seems like everyone thats 15 or older has them.