Mobile connections skyrocketing, Android winning battle so far
August 8th, 2011 | by Mobile Data Group |As more consumers trade in feature phones for smartphones, adopt tablets and make Internet connections at home, during the morning commute and in the office, savvy marketers wonder when and how these consumers are connecting. According to several reports, Android is beginning to push more consumers online, but Apple’s iOS continues to win the ad war. How do the numbers breakdown?
A new forecast from Gartner predicts mobile connections will surpass 5.5 billion (globally) by year’s end, an increase of 11% Year over Year (YoY). By 2015, global mobile connections should near 7.5 billion according to forecasters and mobile data services revenue could reach as much as $552 billion.
New data from Jumptap gives some indication of how the different mobile operating systems are being used coast to coast. For example, Android users seem to be primarily located in the South or Southwest United States while Apple’s iOS platform is used by more Mid-Westerners and Northeasterners. As for overall share, Android is winning the battle so far. Data from comScore agrees with this; their researchers found, iin June, that 40% of US smartphone users were on the Android platform.
“Our advertisers are requesting the most granular data available on mobile users so they can create the most targeted campaigns,” said Paran Johar, Chief Marketing Officer for Jumptap. “This new data reveals some interesting patterns for advertisers to consider when targeting consumers using Android devices vs. iOS devices.”
The most interesting take-aways may be from an advertising perspective. Jumptap’s report shows Apple remains the place to be. According to Jumptap Sony Ericcson’s device is the only Android unit nearing Apple’s advertising performance. Apple’s mobile click-thru rate remains at 0.78% while Sony’s Android unit reached 0.54%. The mobile average for click-thru is 0.52%.