Which smartphone claims more apps? Who is using these apps? and which apps are the most popular among mobile users? These are questions Nielsen answers in is “App Playbook” survey of more than 4,200 people who downloaded an application to their smartphone in the past 30 days. Neilsen breaks down which apps are the most popular on the iPhone, Blackberry, Android and other smartphones.
Here are some of the key statistical findings of Neilsen’s survey:
– 21 percent of American wireless subscribers had a smartphone as of the fourth quarter of 2009. That’s a 19 percent increase from the previous quarter and a significantly higher than the 14 percent at the end of 2008
– 14 percent of mobile subscribers have downloaded an app in the last 30 days
– Average number of apps people have on their phones: Smartphones: 22, Feature Phones:0
– Games are the most downloaded – Both free and paid
– Facebook, Google Maps and Weather Channel are the most popular apps across smartphones
– iPhones: Facebook (58%), iTunes (48%), Google Maps (47%)
– Android: Google Maps (67%), Facebook (50%), Weather Channel (38%)
– Blackberry: Facebook (51%), Google Maps (34%), Weather Channel (28%)
– Social Networking: Facebook is the most popular app; however, Myspace is popular among teens, while linkedIn is a favorite among adults age 24-44
– News/Weather: The Weather Channel was used by 58% of mobile users distrubuted across all ages.
– Shopping: Amazon and Ebay apps are leading mobile retail with 57% and 41%, respectively.
– Search/Map: Instamapper is the app favorite and its primarily used by males
– Video/Movie: Imeem and Moviefone are the most popular apps and are favorites among young males.
– Music: iTunes, Pandora, Sirius XM appeal more to males, while Yahoo Music is more evenly split.
