|
|
Mobile E-Mail Tops British iPhone Usage
According to a report from mobile usage analysts, comScore, three-quarters of British iPhone owners use mobile e-mail, making it the most popular type of mobile content consumed on the device.
"Consumers are clearly embracing the iPhone's touch screen keyboard," observed Alistair Hill, analyst, comScore. "The penetration of e-mail usage on the iPhone is more than double that of the smartphone category as a whole. Over the past several quarters, the UK smartphone market has been dominated by the N95, which lacks a QWERTY keyboard. As a result, we see smartphone users favour using their device for music and photo messaging, two activities for which these Nokia devices are particularly well-suited, more than e-mail."
comScore data show that nearly 80 per cent of UK iPhone owners accessed news and other information via a browser, four times the rate for all mobile phone users. The App Store is also extremely popular among iPhone owners, with 55.6 per cent accessing news and information via a downloaded application, compared with 22.1 per cent of smartphone owners, and 6.3 per cent of all mobile phone users.
The iPhone has also provided a boost to the mobile games sector, with 37 per cent of iPhone owners downloading a game and 18.6 per cent purchasing one. Only 5.6 per cent of smartphone owners and 2.7 percent of mobile phone users purchased a game in January.
Top Activities Among iPhone Users vs. All Smartphone Users
| Activity | iPhone Users | Smartphone Users | All Mobile Phone Users |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accessed news/info via browser | 79.7% | 48.0% | 19.8% |
| Accessed e-mail | 75.4% | 35.4% | 13.1% |
| Listened to mobile music | 65.6% | 40.5% | 22.6% |
| Accessed news or info via downloaded application | 55.6% | 22.1% | 6.3% |
| Accessed social networking site | 54.8% | 29.6% | 12.7% |
| Accessed weather | 55.5% | 26.1% | 9.2% |
| Used web search | 55.1% | 31.9% | 12.3% |
comScore also revealed today the demographics of iPhone owners, and found that 75 percent are males, mostly between the ages of 18-44. Smartphone ownership also typically skews male in the UK, with males comprising 65 per cent of the audience.
"The iPhone is indeed an early adopter phenomenon in the United Kingdom," said Hill. "While the device's ease of use is certainly contributing to the lift we see in mobile media consumption, the fact that the device requires a subscription package that includes an unlimited data plan is also a contributing factor. However, it is also important to note that while nearly all iPhone owners are consuming mobile media, the device is in the hands of only two percent of mobile phone users in the UK."
comScore data also shows that 55 percent of mobile media consumers are male, and 65 percent are between the ages of 18-44. Twenty-three per cent of mobile media users own a smartphone; and 3.5 percent, an iPhone.
Posted to the site on 26th March 2009