Android Users Favor Apps Over Web

Mobile-maps-Google

Last month, Nielsen rolled out its first metered data for iOS and Android smartphones, with tracking based on electronic measurement of actual behavior rather than user surveys.

The first cut of meter-based research showed that Android users spend about two-thirds of their time with apps and one-third using the Web. It also found that the top 50 applications account for the vast majority (61%) of time spent, meaning that the other hundreds of thousands of apps are fighting for a minority of users' time.

In the latest findings, Nielsen ranked the top 20 Android apps according to overall "active reach" -- the percentage of Android owners who used an app within the past 30 days. The data was drawn from on-device meters installed on thousands of Android smartphones. Google has a strong presence on that list, claiming four of the top five spots.

Aside from the Android Market app itself (90.5% reach), that included Google Maps (74.6%), Gmail (74.5%) and Google Search (71.9%). Squeezing into the No. 4 slot was Facebook, with 73.5% reach.

After YouTube, at No. 6, with 51.4% active reach, there is a precipitous drop-off to "Advanced Task Killer," an Android app used to get rid of unwanted applications -- with 26.1% reach, followed closely by mobile game phenomenon "Angry Birds." Other popular apps in the top 20 include Pandora, Zynga's "Words With Friends" game, Twitter and Google+.

While men and women used apps in the top 20 about equally, Nielsen highlighted some pronounced gender differences related to social apps. For instance, Facebook's app had an active reach of 81% among women compared to 69% for male Android users. Conversely, Google+ had more than twice the reach among men (15.8%) as compared to women (7.2%).

Chalk up the greater popularity of Google+ with men to its initial uptake by a relatively small group of tech enthusiasts, who typically skew male. Android users are also predominantly male, at 61%, according to an estimate last month by mobile optimization firm Inneractive. By contrast, iPhone users split 51% male to 49% female.

A separate study from Nielsen on Monday showed that 37% of all social media users are accessing social properties via mobile devices. Use of social networking apps is up 30% over the third quarter of 2010. Furthermore, 60% of smartphone owners use social networking apps, behind only games (67%) and weather (65%).

Beyond social media, apps like Amazon's Kindle and Words With Friends showed higher active reach among women, while apps like Quickoffice Pro and the Amazon Appstore had higher active reach among male Android smartphone owners.

According to research Nielsen released last month, 61% of Kindle owners are women, which might explain the Kindle app being more popular with women (14.8% reach versus 10.2% for men). In short, women read more than men.

"And despite the stereotype that men don't like asking for directions, they seemed pretty comfortable using Google Maps, which has 77% active reach among men compared to 71.8% among women, according to a Nielsen blog post on the Android app ranking today. Also a bit surprising is that only three games -- "Angry Birds," "Angry Birds Rio," and "Words With Friends" -- made the top 20. Then again, most popular games tend to be more ephemeral than the Angry Birds franchise.

Of the top 20 free apps listed in the Android Market, six are games (including ESPN Fantasy Football 2011). The top five downloads are Google Maps, YouTube, Facebook for Android, Pandora and Netflix. A Nielsen spokesperson said the media research firm may at some point release the top 20 iPhone apps, but has not yet done so. That comparison could provide more insight into the difference between Android and iPhone users. 

1 comment about "Android Users Favor Apps Over Web".
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  1. Durant Imboden from Europeforvisitors.com, September 14, 2011 at 12:23 p.m.

    Isn't it possible that the statistics are skewed by the fact that Android is pretty much a smartphone platform, while iOS includes tablets (which are more Web-friendly and less app-centric than phones are)?

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