Apps: 56% of Activity on Android Smartphones

Recent data from Nielsen breaks down mobile activity on Android smartphones. The numbers also examine the best forms of discovery for smartphone apps.

According to Nielsen, 56 percent of all activity on Android smartphones takes place with apps. Meanwhile, 19 percent is accounted for by email and messaging, 15 percent by phone, 9 percent by Web browser and 1 percent by camera.

The company also examined the discovery of apps. For branded apps, for example, 28 percent are discovered via a friend/family, making this word-of-mouth discovery method the most common for branded apps. For all apps, this accounted for 45 percent of discovery.

Searching the application store on phones accounted for 21 percent of discovery for branded apps and 58 percent for all apps.

Meanwhile, third-party websites accounted for 17 percent of discovery for branded apps and 18 percent for all apps.

Television advertisements accounted for 15 percent of discovery for branded apps and 8 percent for all apps, while newspaper/magazine/radio accounted for 13 percent of discovery for branded apps and 10 percent for all apps.

Apps promoting other apps accounted for 9 percent of discovery for branded apps and 13 percent for all apps.

Email tips from carriers accounted for 6 percent of discovery for branded apps and 5 percent for all apps.

Device homepages accounted for 5 percent of discovery for branded apps and 11 percent for all apps, while carrier homepages accounted for 5 percent of discovery for branded apps and 7 percent for all apps.

Sync software (iTunes, etc.) accounted for 4 percent of discovery for branded apps and 7 percent for all apps.

Jonathan Carson, CEO of Telecom at Nielsen, discussed the “musts” for a successful app:

• “Define success in advance: Who are you trying to reach? What are you trying to achieve? What are the right metrics or Key Performance Indicators (KPI)?

• Apps can support your strategy; they are not a strategy in and of themselves

• Give consumers something useful: price comparisons, stain removal tips, recipes, weather

• Protect the brand: A great app can revitalize your brand, a “buggy” one will destroy it”

According to comScore, 47.5 percent of iPhone traffic occurs via Wi-Fi/LAN access, while 52.5 percent occurs via mobile access. For Android, 21.7 percent of traffic occurs via Wi-Fi/LAN access, while 78.3 percent occurs via mobile access.

Sources:

http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/consumer/you-have-and-app-for-that-now-what/

http://www.comscoredatamine.com/2011/06/iphone-and-android-traffic-by-connection-type/