Android News
Latest Android consumer data is all part of Google’s plan
April 4, 2010 | by Ed Clark
Android, Android News, Android OS, Carriers, Google
As Androinica’s Christopher Smith pointed out yesterday, things are really looking up for Android lately. Not only has Android essentially caught up with iPhone in the widely watched AdMob OS market share statistics, but Android has just become the hottest smartphone platform in a recent consumer demand survey conducted by Changewave.
I am most interested in the AdMob statistic because consumer demand can change from week to week, while consumer habits are much more predictable after extended periods of observation. The results? Android users surf the web a lot. More than any other platform on a per user basis. Consider this: in the most recent sales data provided by comScore, Android’s share grew by an amazing 153.6 percent (far more than any other platform), but still has less than 1/3 of the iPhone’s total sales share. So for Android to match iPhone in AdMob’s market share rating is incredible. By my rough guesstimate, each Android user spends 360% more time surfing the internet (and therefore seeing AdMob ads) than each iPhone user. The other contenders–RIM, Palm, and WinMo–have rates that are too low to even bother compiling the data.
What can we conclude from this data? One could speculate that the difference may be related to the carriers involved. Perhaps AT&T and Blackberry plans discourage browsing, at least in comparison to Android device plans. I wouldn’t know, but I’m sure others have done the plan comparisons. iPhone folks will undoubtably say that iPhone apps are in general much better than Android apps, so iPhone users have more to do with their phones than surf the web. Maybe. But the most interesting take for me is that this outcome is exactly what Google wanted from the Android platform. Here is a quote from a recent New York Times article about Google’s intentions in regard to Android:
“Google, on the other hand, wants smartphones to have open, nonproprietary platforms so users can freely roam the Web for apps that work on many devices. Google has long feared that rivals like Microsoft or Apple or wireless carriers like Verizon could block access to its services on devices like smartphones, which could soon eclipse computers as the primary gateway to the Web. Google’s promotion of Android is, essentially, an effort to control its destiny in the mobile world.”
As the owner of a Nexus One, I can say that my phone has replaced my laptop for most of my web browsing. The combination of the News/Weather widget and my constantly updated RSS feeds through FeedR meet most of my web browsing needs on a daily basis. This, it seems, is what our friends at Google were hoping for. Add in the long-promised Flash capabilities for Android, and look for these statistics to jump up even higher.
Why would "Perhaps AT&T and Blackberry plans discourage browsing"? I'm using Nexus One on AT&T 3G network and it works just fine, and data bandwidth is unlimited (for $30 per month).
I would have one too, if AT&T would subsidize it with a contract. Otherwise my 2 year contract and money goes to waste since I plan on staying with AT&T anyway.
Hi vkelman–Just to clarify, I said the some might speculate that existing data plans are somehow pro-Android to explain why Android users surf so much more than other kinds of users. I don't mean to suggest this as a fact. The key question is: how have Android users caught up to iPhone users in the AdMob metrics despite having 1/3 of the sales?
Hi Clark! Yes, sure, I understand what you said. I just wanted to clarify that there is nothing bad about AT&T's $30 unlimited 3G data plan which works equally for iPhone or Android. So, that possible speculations about pro-Android data plan are not correct – I agree with you. I think konawayne made a good point below: most of current Android users right now are fans, geeks – not average mobile phone users. It's likely to change after Android becomes wide-spread consumer device. But still, the whole spirit of Android as an open system which encourages downloading apps and browsing internet will persist and hopefully will contribute to the further success of a platform. To me, as to many other users that freedom to use what I like means much. My recent post Nexus One screen is blurry, not so good for text?
Also, I think most android users are more web-savvy than the average Iphone user. Something that will change once android breaks into more demographics and increases in market share.
As the author of the My Coupons app on Android's market, I can say the questions that make their way to our inbox are becoming increasingly incoherent. So with that, I agree with konawayne's comment
Google is less about "smartphones to have open, nonproprietary platforms" and more about protecting access to Google Ads. THATS why they were worried about Verizon, Apple, etc. Everyone looks out for their own interests. The only reason Google invents any products is to get more eyeballs to their ads. Getting more gmail, calendar, Android users, etc is just a bridge to getting more people to their ads. Google didn't come up with Android out of the goodness of their own hearts. They're a for-profit company that delivers ads.
Hi Trent, exactly. Did anyone lead you to believe otherwise? The only thing I would add is that there is a clear difference for the USERS in the ecosystems imagined by each company you named.