Usage profiles for mobile devices

This content is 14 years old. I don't routinely update old blog posts as they are only intended to represent a view at a particular point in time. Please be warned that the information here may be out of date.

A few weeks ago, an agency presented some statistics to me about mobile apps.  Unfortunately, although I did ask for permission to use the statistics, I don’t have details of the source but I thought they were interesting to present on this blog, particularly in the light of Forrester CEO George Colony’s keynote comments on the “App Internet” at the Forrester IT Forum last month.

Mobile devices are changing the way we consume and engage digitally:

  • 66% [of mobile device owners] say they can’t live without their phone.
  • 64% [of mobile device owners] say mobiles and the Internet have made our life better.
  • 71% of smartphone owners have downloaded [at least one] app.
  • 28% [of Internet users] connect to the Internet via a mobile [device].
  • 20% of all Christmas online sales in 2010 were via a mobile [device].

What I found particularly interesting were two usage patterns that were presented to me for reading articles on smartphones and on tablets:

iPhone usage spikes

Smartphone users exhibited four spikes at:

  • 6am (early morning/breakfast).
  • 9am (start of work day).
  • 5-6pm (end of work day commute).
  • 8-10pm (couch/prime time, bed time).

Meanwhile, tablet devices are more likely to read at personal prime time – i.e. at the most relaxing time of the day:

iPad usage spikes

I’m not sure that I fit either of these profiles as I tend to use my tablet (my iPad) for my morning/evening commutes, and late at night (in bed) – in between I’m on a laptop, with occasional triaging of email (but not really reading articles) on a smartphone (an iPhone). Nevertheless, it’s interesting to see this marked difference in usage patterns for two classes of mobile device.

2 thoughts on “Usage profiles for mobile devices

  1. I’m a mixture of the two. I read the news on my phone in the morning/morning commute. In the evening commute its my iPad where I’m more awake and read more techie stuff/blogs etc. Then later evening I move onto my pc/laptop for a bit more engaging.

    I say all that typing this on my iPhone, in bed, at 1am. Hey ho!

  2. I use Google webtools to monitor traffic to our website, with its filters it is possible to see what % of visitors are using smart phones to connect to my site, this is growing every month. It’s now up to 3%

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