americans and mobile computing: key trends in consumer research government mobility forum december...
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Americans and Mobile Computing:
Key Trends in Consumer Research
Government Mobility ForumDecember 7, 2011Washington, DC
Aaron W. SmithSenior Research Specialist
Pew Internet Project
• Part of the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan “fact tank” based in Washington, DC
• Provide high quality, objective data to thought leaders and policy makers
• Funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts
• All data is from nationally representative telephone surveys of…
– U.S. adults age 18+ or U.S. teens ages 12-17
– Drawn from dual-frame (landline + cell phone) samples
The Gadget LandscapeThe Rise of Ubiquitous Mobile
Connectivity
How Americans Use Their PhonesEngagement With Mobile
Activities and Applications
The Meaning of MobileWhat is the Value Users Place
on Their Mobile Devices?
Cell phone use is on the riseIn 2011, 84% of Adults Have a Cell Phone
In 2000, 53% of adults owned a cell phone
In 2011, ¼ of US
households are cell only
Mobile Grows, Desktop Use Declines
% of U.S. Adults Who Own Each Type of Device
35%
52%45% 44%
59%
48%
All adults Age 18-29 Age 30-49 Black/Latino $75k+ Annual HH Income
College graduate
Cell phone use is on the rise1/3 of US Adults are Smartphone Users
15% don’t know if their phone is a smartphone
13% don’t know what type
of phone they own
Smartphone Ownership is Highest Among…
% of adults within each group who have a smartphone
Among low-income (<$30k HH income, 22% adoption): 39% of 18-29 have smartphone, 92% have cell
4% of 65+ have smartphone, more than half no cell
Based on May 2011 Pew Internet Tracking Survey
35% of smartphone owners / 15% of cell
owners
Young adults (especially 18-24)
African Americans (mostly
not pre-paid)
Major Smartphone Platforms
Based on August 2011 Pew Internet Tracking Survey
24% of smartphone owners / 10% of cell
owners
College grads
HH income $75k or more
24% of smartphone owners / 10% of cell
owners
College grads
HH income $75k or more
Employed full-time
85%
57% 55%
43%38%
10% 9%
Cell Phone Laptop Desktop MP3 Player Game Console
Tablet Computer
e-Reader
Percent of US adults 18+ who own each type of gadget…
Based on Pew Internet Tracking Survey, 2010-2011
Tablet ownership rose from 4% to 10% between
September 2010 and
August 2011
Tablet and E-Reader Use is Growing
Tablet and e-reader ownership is highest among…. college graduates
adults with household incomes of $75,000+
In 2011, Roughly 2/3 Adults are Wireless Internet Users
Based on August 2011 Pew Internet Tracking Survey
Information of all kinds is portable % of adult cell owners who use their phone to…
Send/receive text messages 73%
Take a picture 73
Access the internet 44
Send a photo or video to someone 54
Send or receive email 76
Record a video 59
Access a social networking site 59
Watch a video 54
Post a photo or video online 45
Access Twitter 15
Based on August 2011 Pew Internet Survey
The most active mobile users are:
Young adults (especially 18-29, but biggest drop-off around age 50)
College graduates
Adults living in urban or suburban areas
Parents African Americans and Latinos
Usage Patterns Also Vary by Phone Type
Based on May 2011 Pew Internet Tracking Survey
Take pictures
Text messaging
Use the internet
Use email
Play games
Social networking
Use Twitter
Watch videos
Do online banking
% of cell owners who use their phones to…
Cell phone use is on the riseThe typical user sends/receives 10 texts per day
31% of text messaging users prefer a text to a
voice call
but…
It’s not necessarily a replacement—heavy text users also make a lot of
voice calls
Number of text messages sent/received per day
Based on cell phone owners in each group
Based on May 2011 Pew Internet Tracking Survey
App downloading is highest among…
Young adults
Higher income adults
College graduates
Adults living in urban or suburban areas
___________________________________________
Most app users use 5 or fewer apps regularly
About 1/3 are “power users” who use 6+ apps
weekly
Nielsen data show the
most popular apps are…
Games
News/Weather
Map/Navigation
Social Networking
What About Apps?
One in three adults download apps to a cell phone or tablet computer
Based on August 2011 Pew Internet Tracking Survey
From Superhighway to Bypass
Apps provide direct connections to information
35%
46%
53%
64%
74%
Get more info about an event you're attending
Help shop or make purchases
Get info about a destination you're visiting
Learn about something you're interested in
News, weather, sports or stocks updates
% of app downloaders who have downloaded each type of app…
Based on August 2011 Pew Internet Tracking Survey
28% of cell owners use their phones to get directions or recommendations based on
their current location, but only 5% use check-in services on their phone
_____________________
1/3 of adults use mobile devices to check weather or
to find local restaurants or businesses
1/5 use mobile devices to get information about local
traffic or transportation
1/6 use mobile devices to get discounts/use coupons at local stores
Information is Location-Based
Based on Jan 2011 and May 2011 Pew Internet Surveys
Cell phone use is on the riseWhat one word best describes how you feel about your cell phone? 72% of responses positive, 16% negative
Based on May 2011 Pew Internet Tracking Survey
Mobile (and smartphones especially) changes the relationship between
information, time and space…
51% of cell owners use phone to get information they need right away (smartphone owners: 79%)
42% use phone to entertainment themselves when bored (smartphone owners: 72%) and 40% have been
helped by phone in an emergency situation
but…
29% turn phone off occasionally just to get a break
13% have pretended to be using their phone to avoid interacting with people around them
36% of smartphone owners have been frustrated by slow download times, and 34% have had trouble doing
something recently because they didn’t have their phone
Based on May 2011 Pew Internet Tracking Survey
25% of smartphone owners say that they use their phone for most of their online
browsing
_____________________
Some do so out of convenience, some out of necessity:
84% of these “cell mostly” users own a desktop or laptop computer, but 32%
lack high-speed access at home
Within the smartphone universe, “cell mostly” internet users skew young,
non-white, and low income/education
Cutting the Internet Cord
Based on May 2011 Pew Internet Tracking Survey
77% use their tablet every day
Users spend an average of 1 hour, 35 minutes on their device daily
53% get news on their tablet daily
---------------------------
Other common daily activities:
Email (54%)
Social Networks (39%)
Games (30%)
Read Books (17%)
Watch Videos (13%)
Focus on Tablet Users
Based on 2011 Pew Research tablet user panel surveys
Information purveyors can…
Provide people with direct access to the information that is most important to them
Provide timely information when and where people need it most
Make their information portable
Operate in a 24/7 world, be constantly connected
Connect their information to real-world places
Create opportunities for information immersion and augmented realities
You can be a…Filter
CuratorNode in a NetworkCommunity Builder
LifesaverTour Guide
What does all of this mean for YOU?
Aaron W. SmithSenior Research Specialist
Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project
Twitter: @pewinternet
@aaron_w_smith
All data available at pewinternet.org