Kindle Fire HD Surges In December

Kindle-FireThe Kindle Fire was on fire in December, seeing the biggest gain in usage among Android devices during the holiday season, according to new data from app advertising and analytics firm Localytics.

The firm said ad impressions generated by the 7-inch Kindle Fire HD shot up 322% between November and December, based on data from tens of thousands of apps that use its software to track usage across more than 60 million mobile devices.

Samsung tablet models also saw healthy -- if more modest -- gains, with impression from the Galaxy Note II increasing 80%, the 10-inch Galaxy Tab 2 (78%), and 7-inch Galaxy Tab 3 (72%). Among the top 20 Android devices on the Localytics platform, eight are now tablets or crossovers. The Samsung Galaxy S II and III smartphones top that list, with about 8.5% share each. The Kindle Fire has the largest share among tablets, at 1.9%.

Findings from competing app analytics firm Flurry late last month suggested tablets were an especially popular gift during the 2012 holiday season. Tablet activations slightly outpaced those for smartphones -- 51% to 49% -- a big change from last year when smartphone activations last outnumbered those for tablets by a 4:1 ratio.

The Localytics report also offered further evidence of gains made by Apple’s answer to the Kindle Fire -- the 7-inch iPad Mini. Among iOS devices, the Mini increased its share to 6% in December from 2% the prior month. The fourth-generation iPad gained even more ground, rising from 2% to 8% share last month.

Also, Localytics found that the iPhone 5 released in September had grown its share among Apple smartphones from 5% to 18%. The iPhone 4S remains the most popular Apple handset, with 40% of the market, just ahead of the iPhone 4’s 36% share.

Besides selling more devices more devices last month, companies like Amazon, Google and Apple also benefit from growing sales of digital and physical goods through tablets and smartphones. An eMarketer report on Wednesday estimated U.S. m-commerce last year rose 81% to almost $25 billion, with that total expected to grow 55% to $38.4 billion in 2013. Tablets are expected to drive the bulk of m-commerce activity. 

 

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