Last year, more non-smartphone users used downloaded apps and mobile browsers. This year, the picture has predictably flipped, according to comScore.
In August, 75.6 million mobile subscribers ages 13 and up used downloaded apps, and 60.4 percent of them were smartphone users, up from 43.6 percent in August of last year.
Meanwhile, 80.8 million mobile subscribers used their browser in August, with smartphone subscribers making up 55.5 percent of this group, up from 41.4 percent in August 2009.
This is a “watershed moment in the industry,” according to Mark Donovan, comScore senior vice president of mobile. “Although Smartphones still make up less than a quarter of the U.S. mobile market, they are generating the lion’s share of mobile content consumption. With Smartphones’ share of the pie destined to get greater over time, marketers and content providers should begin to shift their focus towards developing with primarily these devices in mind.”
The company also found that female smartphone users are gaining ground on their male counterparts when it comes to using a downloaded app or browser. In August, 56.0 percent of smartphone app/browser users were male, down 5.5 percentage point from 61.5 percent in August 2009. Meanwhile, 44.0 percent were female, up 5.5 points from 38.5 percent in the same month last year.
Users between ages 25-34 accounted for 29.2 percent of all smartphone app/browser users in August, down 0.5 points from August 2009. This age group was followed by those between 35-44, who accounted for 23.7 percent of all users, also down 0.5 percentage points.
The age group to see the biggest growth was the 13-17 segment, which accounted for 6.9 percent of all smartphone app/browser users in August, up 1.4 points. Meanwhile, the 55-64 age group lost the most users, finishing August with 6.4 percent of all smartphone app/browser users, down 0.8 points from the same month last year.
Weather apps were the most popular among smartphone subscribers in the U.S., as they were used by 37.8 percent of respondents, followed by 35.7 percent who accessed maps, 30.7 who accessed social networking apps, 18.9 percent who accessed search apps and 18.2 percent who accessed news apps.
For categories accessed via mobile browsers, search led the way with 54.1 percent, followed by social networking with 43.3 percent, news with 40.2 percent, weather with 36.0 percent and sports information with 31.5 percent.
According to NetMarketShare, browsing on mobile devices accounted for 2.8 percent of all browsing in September. Game console browsing remained at a steady 0.04 percent, while desktop browsing accounted for 96.97 percent of all browsing in September.
Sources:</strong
http://www.netmarketshare.com/report.aspx?qprid=61&sample=37
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