By Call me weird, but there’s nothing better to wake up to than a breakdown of demographics from the mobile operating system I use and write about every day. Research firm Mobclix did, well, some research and came up with some interesting numbers and “facts” about those who prefer the little green robot over that rotten, bitten apple. Of note?
- 45% of Android users are first-time smartphone owners. This is notable considering this is exactly what Android is built for and it’s exactly what Mobclix – and nearly everyone else – has Android eventually reaching the finish line first: Android phones can be affordable, they can be had on every carrier, and they can do a lot of things for a lot of people without the beefy hardware to drive that price up.
- 37% of Android users spend most of their time using email, opposed to 21% on games and 8% on maps and navigation. I would assume as much considering the disruptive experience that Gmail is. But what about the other 34%? That’s what I’m really curious about.
- 46% of Android users prefer a touchscreen over a physical keyboard. Are you listening, manufacturers? Physical keyboards are still important to a lot of people. Get on it!
- This stat surprised me the most, though: twice as many Android owners than smartphone users will make a purchase or payment on their devices each month. For the crowd who’s generally known as cheap, you would think that iPhone users would make up the majority in this category as they’re also the types who spend more money on apps than Android users are willing to.
The information here is by no means law considering it’s a VEEEEERY small sample of Android’s freakishly-large user base. Take a full look at the infographic below, courtesy of Mobclix. (Survey based on interviews of 1,025 Android owners conducted throughout the month of October 2010.)
I don’t like how they said that 46% of Android users prefer a touchscreen over a physical keyboard. Wouldn’t you use the larger percent as your example? meaning…54% of Android users prefer a physical keyboard.
I just want everyone that hates on physical keyboards to read that stat one more time.
@wodin
agreed. i had to re-read this before i understood the argument
Physical Keyboard?
Burn it with willy pete.
I really can’t understand the whole gaming thing. People bitched and moaned about not having great games like the iPhone. And you mean to tell me things like Angry Birds represent these os so great games??? I really think the mobile gaming market is no where near the peak it will reach if this is what people were screaming about. And I notice the Android doesn’t have games argument has ceased now.
While the sample size is a small fraction of users, it is more than large enough to get very strong statistics. The margin of error for each stat is going to be very small (probably far less than 1%), so these stats should hold up.
maybe there was a percent of people that had no preference over which keyboard it had. only reason i can think of that they wouldnt use the 54% number
@wodin either, I dont like the wording either. They should account for the whole hundred percent… is the resr people who prefer keyboards? Are there any undecided/like both equally? What are the rest of the numbers like?
An average of 17 applications installed? I’ve got 21 installed that begin with the letter A! What the hell are these people using their phones for?!
(Email, according to the infographic).
Actually that was a lie, it’s 19. But still.
I think the stat on touchscreen vs. physical keyboards may mean that’s the largest group. While there’s 54% still left, maybe 30% prefer a physical keyboard and 24% don’t prefer one over the other. At least, that’s the way I read it.
Wait, what? Twice as many ANDROID OWNERS than SMARTPHONE USERS will make a purchase every month?
What’s the difference between an owner and user? Is Android not a smartphone OS? If it is, the statistic will get stuck in a do-while loop. If it isn’t, then what is it?
I’m sure these 1000 ppl were from US only, LOL
Too flawed to pay any attention. Nothing to see here, move along.
These stats cant be too accurate. I alone have 65 apps (just counted) and do more gaming and web surfing than anything on my phone.
Glad to see that 54% of Android users prefer physical keyboards. Means they’ll keep making phones with them for at least a little while longer. I have the G2 and admit that many times now I use Swype. Still, I use the physical keyboard pretty much daily.
Hmmm, “46% prefer touch-screen over a physical keyboard”. Presumably that was the answer with the largest response and there were multiple other responses. But the article seems to lean the other way saying “physical keyboard users are still a significant market”.
I _love_ my physical keyboard but this seems a little like creative writing.
%1oo of me likes my Android!
Dunno… Maybe it’s:
46% prefer softkeyboard.
40% don’t care.
14% prefer hard keyboard.
The world isn’t black&white you know…
Probably:
46% prefer soft keyboards
12% prefer physical keyboards
42% prefer physical keyboards but have developmental disabilities.
I both love and hate physical keyboards. I love using them over a touch screen, but hate the extra bulk, weight, and opening mechanisms. I think phone manufactures need to spend some time on making phones smaller (but still usable) with physical keyboards.
I have normally used my PDAs more as a business tool than a personal tool. With each device, I had eReader installed and read extensively with it, but over-all, the device was for work. Hang the games, Jack. Not an interest and still not an interest. The TP2 and Evo are still used extensively for work, focusing on HandBase, Excel and even email. Yep, emial. I installed Angry Birds and just as quickly uninstalled it – a complete waste of my time.
Give me email, office type products, HanDBase and related applications.
73% of all statistics are made up anyways.much like this one.
I have a touchscreen only model but greatly long for a physical keyboard… or at least physical gaming controls :) As for the question of how I use my phone: internet, email, voip/chat, games, school (notes, documents, calculator, reference), calendar, camera/video, music/movies, navigation, experimentation, even a little drawing sometimes, to name a few.
The main reason Android users buy less games and apps is that they simply dont have the quality and variety that iOS has “yet”……
It’s no surprise that iPhone users spend 7x more on IN-GAME purchases, there are probably 50x more games on iOS that feature in-app purchasing.
I do find it interesting that they say only 8% switched from an iPhone – in my circle, every Android user I know, myself included, had an iPhone at one time. Maybe it’s just a silicon valley thing.