Thursday, April 8, 2010

Smartphone Ownership Continues to Rise in 2010


The ranks of smartphone owners in the United States continue to swell, findings from a recently released report indicate.


This report comes amid other statistics that indicate that smartphones and mobile devices are, and are going to be, primary tools for a large amount of the U.S. population. Mobile advertising giant AdMob reported that smartphone penetration is now at 19 percent in the United States , while still other experts project that number to rise to 49 percent by late 2011.

Across the pond, mobile devices appear to be taking root in Europeans' hearts.

One study conducted by the European Interactive Advertising Association (EIAA) found that Europeans spend more time browsing the Internet with their mobile devices than they do reading newspapers and magazines. Around 71 million of Europeans turn to their mobile devices weekly to search the Web, the report stated.

“Indeed, new age patterns of media consumption indicate that marketers should be looking to develop multi-platform strategies that reach and connect with consumers more effectively and increase ROI,” Alison Fennah, Executive Director of the EIAA, was quoted as saying. “This is opposed to making media decisions based on an ‘either or’ basis if they want to reach all demographics.”

Basically put, businesses are being urged to utilize multiple advertising platforms, and for small businesses trying to make their presence online, increasing compatibility among mobile users appears to be a crucial step.

Other data the ComScore's report provided: activities such as text messaging, gaming, and listening to music all increased from the November-December in 2010 versus the same three-month period in 2009. Of all mobile subscribers, 61 percent used their smartphones to send text messages, up from 62.1 percent in 2009; game playing rose to 21.9 percent in 2010 from 21.4 percent in 2009; and listening to music was up to 13.1 percent in 2010 from 11.8 percent in 2009.

ComScore also reported that 18 percent of mobile subscribers use their devices to access social networking sites, an increase of 2.8 percentage points.

For small businesses hoping to enhance their online advertising, this provides further evidence that mobile devices are entrenching themselves as a primary way people access the Internet now and in the future.

  • Smart businesses should prepare for smartphones and the rise of the mobile marketing platform.
  • More Americans (45 million) are using smartphones than ever before. Why your small business should be prepared for mobile users.

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