According to The Harris Poll in November 2012 there are both divergences and similarities in actions performed by smartphone owners using both the phone and the computer. When smartphone owners are
asked which of a set of actions (common to both devices) they regularly perform on a smartphone and/or on a computer, the IM, or instant message is the most common smartphone use (87%) and the least
common use for a computer (20%).
In contrast, emails are the top use for computers, with 90% for all email uses combined. Email is still a highly utilized feature on smartphones (72%
combined), though reading emails (67% personal, 38% work) outpaces actually writing emails (56% personal, 32% work) on smartphones.
Smartphone owners also appear to favor computers for
researching goods and services (3rd most reported activity vs. 8th for smartphone use) and purchasing products or services such as clothing and holiday gifts (4th vs.
12th). In contrast, mapping/navigation is among the top uses for smartphones (73% / 2nd), but only a mid-tier use for computers (56% / 7th).
Despite the many
differences between smartphone and computer use, combined social media interactions make for the 5th most frequent use for both a smartphone and a computer. In both cases, reading posts
(56% smartphone, 62% computer) is the top activity, followed by sharing and writing. A similar percentage use their smartphones to "check in" (43%), while far fewer do so on computers (28%).
Media and Communication Actions Regularly Performed on Computer and Smartphone(% of Respondents; Smartphone and Computer; Base: Smartphone users) |
Using a Computer | Using a Smartphone |
Email
[NET] | 90% | Send or receive text or instant messages | 87% |
Send personal emails | 84 | Mapping, navigation, etc. | 73 |
Read personal emails | 82 | Email [NET] | 72 |
Send work emails | 60 | Read personal emails | 67 |
Read work emails | 59 | Send personal emails | 56 |
Take
surveys | 86 | Read work emails | 38 |
Research goods or services | 81 | Send work emails | 32 |
Purchase other products or services (e.g. clothes holiday gifts, etc.) | 78 | Download free applications, music or videos | 66 |
Social Media [NET] | 69 | Social Media [NET] | 64 |
Read social media posts on sites or apps such as Facebook or Twitter | 62 | Read social media posts on sites or apps such as Facebook or Twitter | 56 |
Share social media posts (e.g. news, jokes, pictures, etc.) | 51 | Share social media posts (e.g. news,
jokes, pictures, etc.) | 44 |
Write social media posts | 50 | "Check in" via social media | 43 |
"Check in" via social media | 28 | Write social media posts | 43 |
Find or
research restaurants | 61 | Play games | 56 |
Mapping, navigation, etc. | 56 | Find or research restaurants | 53 |
Play games | 52 | Research goods or services | 45 |
Download free applications, music or videos | 38 | Purchase applications, music or videos | 42 |
Purchase applications, music or videos | 37 | Take surveys | 24 |
Video
chat (e.g. FaceTime, Skype, etc.) | 35 | Video chat (FaceTime, Skype, etc.) | 23 |
Send or receive text or instant messages | 20 | Purchase
other products or services (e.g. clothes, holiday gifts, etc.) | 23 |
Source: Harris Interactive,
January 2012 ( Multiple responses allowed) |
Smartphone owners with children in their household are significantly more likely than those without to indicate
using smartphones for most of the activities tested, including mapping/navigation uses, downloading free applications, music or videos, combined social media use, playing games, researching goods or
services, and many others.
Actions Regularly Performed Using A Smartphone(by Children in HH; Base: Smartphone users) |
| Total Smartphone Users | Smartphone Users With Children <18 In HH | Smartphone Users Without Children <18 In HH |
Send or receive text or instant messages | 87% | 89% | 86% |
Mapping, navigation, etc. | 73 | 79 | 68 |
Email [NET] | 72 | 76 | 69 |
Read personal emails | 67 | 71 | 64 |
Send personal emails | 56 | 60 | 53 |
Read work emails | 38 | 44 | 34 |
Send work emails | 32 | 37 | 29 |
Download free applications, music or videos | 66 | 72 | 62 |
Social Media [NET] | 64 | 72 | 59 |
Read social media posts on sites or apps such as Facebook or Twitter | 56 | 63 | 51 |
Share
social media posts (e.g. news, jokes, pictures, etc.) | 44 | 51 | 40 |
"Check in" via social media | 43 | 53 | 36 |
Write social media posts | 43 | 51 | 37 |
Play games | 56 | 62 | 52 |
Find or research restaurants | 53 | 56 | 50 |
Research goods or services | 45 | 54 | 39 |
Purchase
applications, music or videos | 42 | 50 | 36 |
Take surveys | 24 | 31 | 19 |
Video chat (FaceTime, Skype, etc.) | 23 | 28 | 19 |
Purchase other products or services (e.g. clothes, holiday gifts, etc.) | 23 | 30 | 17 |
Source: Harris Interactive, January 2012 (
Multiple responses allowed) |
The report concludes by noting that understanding what smartphones are used for is an integral part of designing a successful
device. The prevalence of text messaging calls for a well designed keyboard interface. Similarly, smartphone users' reliance on their devices for mapping and navigation services calls for either a
well designed mapping interface. As reliance on these devices continues to grow both data plans and entire data networks may be affected in any number of ways.
For additional information from Harris Interactive, please visit
here.