AdMob reports, “the iPhone represented 60 percent of U.S. smartphone usage in AdMob’s network in July 2009, followed by RIM and Android devices at 13 and 12 percent, respectively.”
AdMob surveyed over 1,000 iPhone, iPod touch and Android users to find our more about their interaction and download behavior with apps. Other highlights:
- Android and iPhone users download approximately 10 new apps a month, while iPod touch owners download an average of 18 per month
- More than 90 percent of Android and iPhone OS users browse and search for apps directly on their mobile device instead of their computer
- Upgrading from the lite version was the top reason given when users were asked what drives them to purchase a paid app
- iPhone and iPod touch users are twice as likely to purchase paid apps than Android users.
- Users who regularly download paid apps spend approximately $9 on an average of five paid downloads per month
AdMob says (pdf) that Apple’s iPhone store sells some $200 million in applications every month (about $2.4 billion a year), with about 1.5 billion apps downloaded from the App Store in total. The Android marketplace, by comparison, generates about $5 million a month (about $60 million a year).
“However,” reports VentureBeat, “users who purchase paid apps on either platform exhibit similar downloading and spending habits, indicating the potential for paid apps on Android Market as it develops.”
The survey asked more than 1,000 Android, iPhone, and iPod Touch users about their download habits, and found that those who regularly paid for apps spent similar amounts of money — roughly $9 per month on five downloads — regardless of whether they were iPhone or Android users.
