Android Overtakes Apple Mobile App Downloads
Posted: October 26th, 2011 | Author: Michael Courtenay | Filed under: Android, Apple, Cult of Apple, Favorite New Thought, Google, iPhone, iPhone 4, iPhone 5, Kiss My . . ., Michael Courtenay, Microsoft, Samsung, Smartphone, Technoid Computer News, Technoid Gadget News, Technoid Love | Tags: android, apple, comscore, comScore MobiLens, Google, iOS, Microsoft, Mobile Content Usage, Motorola, nokia, Palm, RIM, Samsung, smartphone, Smartphone Platforms | Comments Off
The growth of Googles Android platform has been stratospheric over the past 12 months, at October 2010 Android held 19 percent of the U.S. smartphone market – with Apples iPhone iOS at 24 percent. Fast forward 12 months to October 2011 and Android was holding 38 percent of the smartphone market, an increase of almost 20 percent, against Apples 26 percent, an increase of only 2 percent. Androids big big numbers is also reflected in it’s massive increase of available apps to 500,000.
Note worthy is Samsungs strangle hold on the smartphone market. Our favorite semiconductor behemoth has consistently outperformed Apple in sales. Samsung smartphones make up almost 25 percent of the U.S. market, while the much lauded Apple iPhone has consistently sat below 9 percent. This explains Apples aggression toward Samsung [check the litigation links] 84.5 million smartphone handsets in the U.S. equates to 21 million Samsung handsets to Apples 8 million iPhones, ouch!
Android overtook iOS to become the market share leader in mobile application downloads. The market shares of Android and iOS were 44% and 31%, respectively in Q2 2011.
But app market apps are not apples to apples, so to speak. German-based research2guidance, which issued the report, said that more than 37 percent of the apps published in the Android Market were later removed for various reasons, whereas the Apple App Store has removed just 24 percent of published apps in comparison.
Although Apple is known to regularly clean up its store from inappropriate or outdated content, its active application share still exceeds that of Android. It is likely that the more rigid application submission requirements prevent developers from publishing multiple trial or low quality applications whereas publishers in the Android Market place a lot of market testing, trials, demo and malware content.
“Android’s open source strategy is the main factor for its success,” says Lim Shiyang, research associate. “Being a free platform has expanded the Android device install base, which in turn has driven growth in the number of third party multi-platform and mobile operator app stores. These conditions alone explain why Android is the new leader in the mobile application market.”
Recent quarterly shipment growth figures also explain Android’s ascent to the top app download position. iPhone shipment growth in Q2 2011 slowed to 9% from 15% a quarter earlier. In contrast, Android smartphone shipments increased 36% in Q2 2011, compared to 20% in Q1. Android’s install base now exceeds iOS by a factor of 2.4-to-1 worldwide; by 2016 this factor will grow to 3-to-1.
“Despite leading in total mobile application downloads, Android’s app downloads per user still lag behind Apple’s by 2-to-1,” adds Dan Shey, practice director, mobile services. “Apple’s superior monetization policies attracted good developers within its ranks, thus creating a better catalog of apps and customer experience.”
Global app downloads for year-end 2011 are expected to balloon to 29 billion, compared to only nine billion in 2010. Such stellar increases are largely due to the proliferation of smartphones around the world. The total smartphone install base is expected to grow 46% in 2011.
In the Android Market, 78 percent of the apps removed were free applications, “which could mean that publishers put more effort into the applications they place with the pay-per-download business model, thus ensuring that it is kept longer in store.”
ABI Research’s “Mobile Applications Market Data” tracks mobile application downloads and revenues segmented by mobile operating system platform. The database includes historical data and forecasts for application downloads for all major mobile OSs. It also provides mobile application revenue forecasts and an overview of the major mobile application storefronts.
iPhone iOS Short-comings
For the iPhone and iPad the number one draw is ease of use. Your toddler and your grandmother (the one who is intimidated by computers) can both pick up one of these devices and figure out how to use it. Consumers have foked to the ease of use of iPhone and iOS, it’s biggest draw is it’s simplicity. But, with Apple products “everything is either very simple or it’s utterly impossible.” The utterly impossible side is where we find Apple’s first weak spot.
1. Software inflexibility: There is next to no tweaking or customization allowed in iOS. Short of voiding your warranty and Jailbreaking the iPhone, you have to do it Apple’s or no way. These limits allow iOS products to function very well within the protected space carved out by Apple. However, if you have the need or desire to do something that is not within the boundaries Apple has set for iOS (and can’t create an app to handle it), then you’re out of luck.
2. Productivity limitations: Both the iPhone and iPad are far better devices for consuming information than creating it. Part of the problem is with the on-screen keyboard, which works magnificently for short bursts of data entry but is not something you want to use for writing an email or document of greater length. The operating system itself is not especially tailored for multi-tasking or work-focused tasks such as building presentations, editing files, and juggling several bits of information at once.
3. Fewer hardware choices: Some people prefer really big screens while other people like ultra-small and portable devices. Some want a high-resolution camera lens and all the multimedia bells and whistles in their mobile device, while others don’t need any of that stuff (and don’t want to pay for it) but want a really nice hardware keyboard so that they can do longer data entry more comfortably. With Apple products, you have very few choices. In fact, with both iPhone and iPad there are really only two choices to make when buying the product: storage and connectivity. You get to pick how much storage you want and you get to pick the wireless carrier on the iPhone or the Wi-Fi only model vs. the mobile broadband model on the iPad.
Android Short-comings
The best thing about Android is that its Open Handset Alliance includes some of the biggest and best vendors in the mobile world, including Samsung, Motorola, HTC, LG, Dell, Sony-Ericsson, and many more. The Android partners make devices in all shapes and sizes and in virtually every iteration you can imagine, which is possibly at the root of the problem.
The platform is inherently jittery, often underwhelming and always looking like it’s had bits tacked onto the sides. Open source is a wonderfilled thought, in the real world however, straight lines are considered neat and tidy, Android is like a big twisty ball of string.
1. Ecosystem chaos: The Android operating system is open source, hardware makers can take it and do almost anything they want with it. The only real carrot-and-stick that Google has is whether to allow the hardware makers the ability to include the Android Market for applications on their devices. And, frankly, Google has not used this as effectively as it could to keep vendors from doing bad things like launching with long-outdated versions of Android like the Dell Streak did and loading up the device with a bunch of uninstallable crapware like AT&T did with the HTC Aria and Verizon did with the Samsung Fascinate.
2. Wildly inconsistent experiences: One of the main consequences of the ecosystem melee is that there is not enough of a consistent experience across different Android devices. For example, nearly all of the hardware vendors put the Android menu buttons in a different order at the bottom of the screen, and many of them even use different types of button icons, further confusing users. Then there’s the issue of Android software updates. Google releases major updates to the Android OS at least twice a year. However, in 2010, the only device that got those updates right away was Google’s Nexus One, which runs the stock Android OS. All of the other Android devices have a vendor-supplied skin (which typically makes the devices worse instead of better) that runs on top of Android. The hardware vendors have to update their custom Android skins to make them compatible with the newest Android software and then submit it to the wireless carriers, who have to make sure it doesn’t conflict with any of their Android apps, and then it finally gets pushed to the consumer. The timing of these updates is very inconsistent across the Android ecosystem.
3. Leadership vacuum: A lot of these Android problems boil down to the fact that Google needs to show stronger leadership of its ecosystem. Even if it can’t ultimately force the hands of hardware vendors since Android is open source, it can use the Android Market as a bigger stick against gross violators and it can publicly suggest best practices that it would like to see Android vendors adopt in order to pressure (and occasionally inspire) the hardware makers and wireless carriers into better behavior.
FOR THOSE WHO LOVE STATS!
August 2011
comScore Reports August 2011 U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share
comScore Releases Report “iPhone 5: Implications for the Operator Industry”
RESTON, VA, October 5, 2011 – comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released data from the comScore MobiLens service, reporting key trends in the U.S. mobile phone industry during the three month average period ending August 2011. The study surveyed more than 30,000 U.S. mobile subscribers and found Samsung to be the top handset manufacturer overall with 25.3 percent market share. Google Android continued to gain ground in the smartphone market reaching 43.7 percent market share.
In light of Apple’s new iPhone announcement, comScore has also released a report highlighting the implications of this new device to the mobile operator marketplace. A complimentary copy of the report can be downloaded at the following link: http://www.comscore.com/
OEM Market Share
For the three-month average period ending in August, 234 million Americans age 13 and older used mobile devices. Device manufacturer Samsung ranked as the top OEM with 25.3 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers (up 0.5 percentage points from the prior three-month period), followed by LG with 21.0 percent share and Motorola with 14.0 percent share. Apple strengthened its position at #4 with 9.8 percent share of mobile subscribers (up 1.1 percentage points), while RIM rounded out the top five with 7.1 percent share.
| Top Mobile OEMs 3 Month Avg. Ending Aug. 2011 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending May 2011 Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers (Smartphone & Non-Smartphone) Ages 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens |
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| Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers | |||
| May-11 | Aug-11 | Point Change | |
| Total Mobile Subscribers | 100.0% | 100.0% | N/A |
| Samsung | 24.8% | 25.3% | 0.5 |
| LG | 21.1% | 21.0% | -0.1 |
| Motorola | 15.1% | 14.0% | -1.1 |
| Apple | 8.7% | 9.8% | 1.1 |
| RIM | 8.1% | 7.1% | -1.0 |
Smartphone Platform Market Share
84.5 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in August, up 10 percent from the preceding three month period. Google Android ranked as the top smartphone platform with 43.7 percent market share, up 5.6 percentage points from the prior three-month period. Apple strengthened its #2 position, growing 0.7 percentage points to 27.3 percent of the smartphone market. RIM ranked third with 19.7 percent share, followed by Microsoft (5.7 percent) and Symbian (1.8 percent).
| Top Smartphone Platforms 3 Month Avg. Ending Aug. 2011 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending May 2011 Total U.S. Smartphone Subscribers Ages 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens |
|||
| Share (%) of Smartphone Subscribers | |||
| May-11 | Aug-11 | Point Change | |
| Total Smartphone Subscribers | 100.0% | 100.0% | N/A |
| 38.1% | 43.7% | 5.6 | |
| Apple | 26.6% | 27.3% | 0.7 |
| RIM | 24.7% | 19.7% | -5.0 |
| Microsoft | 5.8% | 5.7% | -0.1 |
| Symbian | 2.1% | 1.8% | -0.3 |
Mobile Content Usage
In August, 70 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device, up 1.0 percentage points. Browsers were used by 42.1 percent of subscribers (up 2.3 percentage points), while downloaded applications were used by 41.6 percent (up 3.0 percentage points). Accessing of social networking sites or blogs increased 2.3 percentage points to 30.9 percent of mobile subscribers. Game-playing was done by 28.5 percent of the mobile audience (up 1.6 percentage points), while 20.7 percent listened to music on their phones (up 2.1 percentage points).
| Mobile Content Usage 3 Month Avg. Ending Aug. 2011 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending May 2011 Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers (Smartphone & Non-Smartphone) Ages 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens |
|||
| Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers | |||
| May-11 | Aug-11 | Point Change | |
| Total Mobile Subscribers | 100.0% | 100.0% | N/A |
| Sent text message to another phone | 69.5% | 70.5% | 1.0 |
| Used browser | 39.8% | 42.1% | 2.3 |
| Used downloaded apps | 38.6% | 41.6% | 3.0 |
| Accessed social networking site or blog | 28.6% | 30.9% | 2.3 |
| Played Games | 26.9% | 28.5% | 1.6 |
| Listened to music on mobile phone | 18.6% | 20.7% | 2.1 |
July 2011
comScore Reports July 2011 U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share
More than 80 Million Americans Now Own Smartphones
RESTON, VA, August 30, 2011 – comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released data from the comScore MobiLens service, reporting key trends in the U.S. mobile phone industry during the three month average period ending July 2011. The study surveyed more than 30,000 U.S. mobile subscribers and found Samsung to be the top handset manufacturer overall with 25.5 percent market share. Google Android continued to gain ground in the smartphone market reaching 41.8 percent market share.
OEM Market Share
For the three month average period ending in July, 234 million Americans ages 13 and older used mobile devices. Device manufacturer Samsung ranked as the top OEM with 25.5 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers (up 1.0 percentage points), followed by LG with 20.9 percent share and Motorola with 14.1 percent share. Apple strengthened its position at #4 with 9.5 percent share of mobile subscribers (up 1.2 percentage points), while RIM rounded out the top five with 7.6 percent share.
| Top Mobile OEMs 3 Month Avg. Ending Jul. 2011 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Apr. 2011 Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers (Smartphone & Non-Smartphone) Ages 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens |
|||
| Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers | |||
| Apr-11 | Jul-11 | Point Change | |
| Total Mobile Subscribers | 100.0% | 100.0% | N/A |
| Samsung | 24.5% | 25.5% | 1.0 |
| LG | 20.9% | 20.9% | 0.0 |
| Motorola | 15.6% | 14.1% | -1.5 |
| Apple | 8.3% | 9.5% | 1.2 |
| RIM | 8.2% | 7.6% | -0.6 |
Smartphone Platform Market Share
82.2 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in July 2011, up 10 percent from the preceding three month period. Google Android ranked as the top smartphone platform with 41.8 percent market share, up 5.4 percentage points. Apple strengthened its #2 position with 27.0 percent of the smartphone market, up 1.0 percentage points from the prior reporting period. RIM ranked third with 21.7 percent share, followed by Microsoft (5.7 percent) and Symbian (1.9 percent).
| Top Smartphone Platforms 3 Month Avg. Ending Jul. 2011 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Apr. 2011 Total U.S. Smartphone Subscribers Ages 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens |
|||
| Share (%) of Smartphone Subscribers | |||
| Apr-11 | Jul-11 | Point Change | |
| Total Smartphone Subscribers | 100.0% | 100.0% | N/A |
| 36.4% | 41.8% | 5.4 | |
| Apple | 26.0% | 27.0% | 1.0 |
| RIM | 25.7% | 21.7% | -4.0 |
| Microsoft | 6.7% | 5.7% | -1.0 |
| Symbian | 2.3% | 1.9% | -0.4 |
Mobile Content Usage
In July, 70 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device, up 1.2 percentage points. Browsers were used by 41.1 percent of subscribers (up 2.0 percentage points), while downloaded applications were used by 40.6 percent (up 2.8 percentage points). Accessing of social networking sites or blogs increased 2.1 percentage points to 30.1 percent of mobile subscribers. Game-playing was done by 27.8 percent of the mobile audience (up 1.6 percentage points), while 20.3 percent listened to music on their phones (up 2.3 percentage points).
| Mobile Content Usage 3 Month Avg. Ending Jul. 2011 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Apr. 2011 Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers (Smartphone & Non-Smartphone) Ages 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens |
|||
| Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers | |||
| Apr-11 | Jul-11 | Point Change | |
| Total Mobile Subscribers | 100.0% | 100.0% | N/A |
| Sent text message to another phone | 68.8% | 70.0% | 1.2 |
| Used browser | 39.1% | 41.1% | 2.0 |
| Used downloaded apps | 37.8% | 40.6% | 2.8 |
| Accessed social networking site or blog | 28.0% | 30.1% | 2.1 |
| Played Games | 26.2% | 27.8% | 1.6 |
| Listened to music on mobile phone | 18.0% | 20.3% | 2.3 |
About MobiLens
MobiLens data is derived from an intelligent online survey of a nationally representative sample of mobile subscribers age 13 and above. Data on mobile phone usage refers to a respondent’s primary mobile phone and does not include data related to a respondent’s secondary device.
2010
comScore Reports November 2010 U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share
Google Android Reaches #2 Spot among Smartphone Platforms
RESTON, VA, January 6, 2011 – comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released data from the comScore MobiLens service, reporting key trends in the U.S. mobile phone industry during the three month average period ending November 2010. The report ranked the leading mobile original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and smartphone operating system (OS) platforms in the U.S. according to their share of current mobile subscribers ages 13 and older, and reviewed the most popular activities and content accessed via the subscriber’s primary mobile phone. The November report found Samsung to be the top handset manufacturer overall with 24.5 percent market share, while RIM led among smartphone platforms with 33.5 percent market share.
OEM Market Share
For the three month average period ending in November, 234 million Americans ages 13 and older used mobile devices. Device manufacturer Samsung ranked as the top OEM with 24.5 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers, up 0.9 percentage points from the three month period ending in August. LG ranked second with 20.9 percent share, followed by Motorola (17.0 percent), RIM (8.8 percent) and Nokia (7.2 percent).
| Top Mobile OEMs 3 Month Avg. Ending Nov. 2010 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Aug. 2010 Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers Ages 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens |
|||
| Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers | |||
| Aug-10 | Nov-10 | Point Change | |
| Total Mobile Subscribers | 100.0% | 100.0% | N/A |
| Samsung | 23.6% | 24.5% | 0.9 |
| LG | 21.2% | 20.9% | -0.3 |
| Motorola | 18.8% | 17.0% | -1.8 |
| RIM | 9.0% | 8.8% | -0.2 |
| Nokia | 7.6% | 7.2% | -0.4 |
Smartphone Platform Market Share
61.5 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in November, up 10 percent from the preceding three-month period, as RIM led with 33.5 percent market share of smartphones. After several months of strong growth, Google Android captured the #2 ranking among smartphone platforms in November with 26.0 percent of U.S. smartphone subscribers. Apple accounted for 25.0 percent of smartphone subscribers (up 0.8 percentage points), followed by Microsoft with 9.0 percent and Palm with 3.9 percent.
| Top Smartphone Platforms 3 Month Avg. Ending Nov. 2010 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Aug. 2010 Total U.S. Smartphone Subscribers Ages 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens |
|||
| Share (%) of Smartphone Subscribers | |||
| Aug-10 | Nov-10 | Point Change | |
| Total Smartphone Subscribers | 100.0% | 100.0% | N/A |
| RIM | 37.6% | 33.5% | -4.1 |
| 19.6% | 26.0% | 6.4 | |
| Apple | 24.2% | 25.0% | 0.8 |
| Microsoft | 10.8% | 9.0% | -1.8 |
| Palm | 4.6% | 3.9% | -0.7 |
Mobile Content Usage
In November, 67.1 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device, up 0.5 percentage points versus the prior three month period, while browsers were used by 35.3 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers (up 0.8 percentage points). Subscribers who used downloaded applications comprised 33.4 percent of the mobile audience, representing an increase of 1.1 percentage points. Accessing of social networking sites or blogs increased 1.0 percentage points, representing 23.5 percent of mobile subscribers. Playing games attracted 22.6 percent of the mobile audience while listening to music attracted 15.0 percent.
| Mobile Content Usage 3 Month Avg. Ending Nov. 2010 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Aug. 2010 Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers Ages 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens |
|||
| Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers | |||
| Aug-10 | Nov-10 | Point Change | |
| Total Mobile Subscribers | 100.0% | 100.0% | N/A |
| Sent text message to another phone | 66.6% | 67.1% | 0.5 |
| Used browser | 34.5% | 35.3% | 0.8 |
| Used downloaded apps | 32.3% | 33.4% | 1.1 |
| Accessed social networking site or blog | 22.5% | 23.5% | 1.0 |
| Played Games | 23.0% | 22.6% | -0.4 |
| Listened to music on mobile phone | 14.7% | 15.0% | 0.3 |
About comScore
comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital business analytics. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/companyinfo
