Smartphone app users overtake basic phone users in the US
updated 03:20 pm EDT, Fri October 1, 2010
comScore finds smartphone apps now in majority
Smartphone app users now make up the majority of those using mobile apps at all in the US, comScore said Friday. Smartphone apps went from 43.6 percent of use in August a year ago to 60.4 percent today. A similar effect has occurred with web browsers, as 55.5 percent of mobile web use is now on a smartphone where it was 41.4 percent in 2009.
The same, close look also discovered that gender was becoming less of an issue, as 44 percent of smartphone app users were women. Teenagers were the fastest-rising group, and most app use centered around weather, maps and social networks. Web use was dominated by search but also social networking and news.
Smartphones still account for less than a quarter of the US smartphone market, but the encouragement to use data meant they were much more aggressive. Americans have been increasingly turning to Android, BlackBerry and iPhone devices, with most app use coming from Android and iPhone owners. Platforms with small app platforms or aging browsers, such as Symbian, webOS and Windows Mobile, have usually only contributed a small amount.
