NPD: 75 percent of US iPhone, iPod touch users download content, other 25 percent think Opera Mini is a tiny concert
By Sean Hollister 
posted May 5th 2010 7:58AM
posted May 5th 2010 7:58AM
While we can't honestly imagine an iDevice user going about their life without connecting to the iTunes App Store at least once in a blue moon -- if not on a semi-permanent basis -- the statistically-significant NPD Group decided to look into the matter regardless. Sure enough, the org reports that a full three-quarters of iPhone and iPod touch users in the US do indeed download apps and entertainment content from the internet. In case you're wondering, that figure beats the pants off those connecting from their video game consoles (19 percent) or Blu-ray players (17 percent), but both of those are obviously biased towards physical, disc-based media. Before you dismiss these findings as obvious, however, let's read between the lines -- if 75 percent of Apple's touchscreen devices are pulling content from the web, that means the other one-quarter have gone without. If not apps, what the heck are those devices being used for?
@MarkCohen I think the issue I am having is with "If only 75% are considered real smartphone users" Just because they don't use the features doesn't make them not a user. They still use the smartphone. Also you're heading back to "what is a smartphone" territory - is the Blackberry a smartphone or a normal phone with excellent messaging and calendaring.
@RattyUK i gotcha. my bad.
@MarkCohen "I'll agree that some BB users don't download apps, but I don't think it's most."
It isn't most on the iphone either.
"And I'd wager that even if some aren't downloading apps, they're using Exchange, calendar, BBM, etc."
Last I checked there is some stuff installed on the iphone. Calendar for example.
"I said it was assuming it was an even distribution between iPod Touch and iPhones."
I think it is pretty safe to assume that the distribution isn't the same at all.
Market share is based on revenue or units sold, not how people use the device.
The other 25% are the ipod touch owners who havent figured out how to set up their wifi.
@Karate Tortoise Or who figured how to jailbreak it...
My mom counts as the 25%. She got the iphone to check her work email and because the phone is easy to use. If it requires more than three button presses to make a phone call it confuses her.
@Octantis The iPhone may be easy to use but one thing I hate the most about it is the fact that it takes too many steps to get to compose a phone number (it's primary function as a smartphone). Press home->Slide to unlock->Launch phone app->select the numpad-> watch the screen animation between each step, and try not to miss a number on the virtual numpad or u'll die before reaching for 911 assistance.
My wife has one just for the "coolness" factor, no games no music only facebook
@JT2319 facebook is an app though. so she wouldnt be in the 25 percent. unless she uses m.facebook.com... which is much less useful then the free facebook app
It seems that I'm the only person in the world that has massive problems with the Opera Mini on my iPhone 3G. Its ssssssslllllllloooooooooowwwwwwwwwww to start beyond annoyance, and almost equally as slow to render pages. So its gone now. I can't buy an iPhone every single year and no one bothered to let me know that a new version would be coming out within 3 months of when I bought my 3G (the 3GS came out in June or July and I bought mine in April). Its almost worthless to buy a smartphone these days. My phone is barely a year old and I won't be able to run some of the updates already in OS 4.0. I'm seriously contemplating an Incredible...
@ShadoeKnight You find Opera slow? Wow, on my 3G I notice the exact opposite, especially when you don't have good reception.
It takes about as long as Safari to open, can't say it's annoyed me and I HATE slow loading apps.
@ShadoeKnight
New iPhones come out ever summer. Now you know.
My dad use it for gmail, sms and obviously to make calls. And thats it.
NPD has been wrong many, many times. Why do people still pay them any attention???
PORN!
I have had my iPhone a year and have no apps for it. I had every intention of loading it up but soon found the 3G web experience good enough where I rarely do anything on it other than browse.
At the time I bought my 3GS I don't think there were many alternatives to such a good browser.
@Pingles ummm...the palm pre?
OK, I'm putting in my two cents. I bought an iPhone and dragged my wife alone. She never got into it, not a fan of apps at all. If anything, her little sister is the one that downloads apps (in the year my wife has had the device, the sister has downloaded about 10 apps). My parents have an iPod touch which they received after buying a Macbook Pro. They use the device all the time but do not do any app-downloading. My little sister though does download apps the few times she's played with the device and last I saw, the device had less than 10 apps on it. I wonder how many other tech enthusiasts have dragged their wives/girlfriends and/or parents to purchase Apple products???
@AmTechIV In fact, I dragged my wife along, too. She downloads lots of TV shows for my kids, music, and several apps. She's even commented to me that she never thought she'd love any phone, but her iPhone changed everything.
Also, we've never shoved our iPhones in other people's faces. In fact, most people I've met who also have iPhones don't act that way, either.
Except that one dude who got the first gen iPhone waaaaay back when... yeah, he was a douche about it.
Both my parents have iPhones (blame the sales guy~even the 32GB models!) and neither of them use apps. Father only uses it to text and call while my mother occasionally browses the web and checks her mail in addition to the basic functions. Luckily I have a MobileMe family account or they wouldn't even have backups of their contacts.
That said results are not surprising at all.
The other 25% use installous and get apps for free.
other 25% = iPod touch users who think it's a fancy music player with internet access.
It depends on the study. If they are considering all iPhones produced, than the other 25% are store models. If it is iPhones sold, there is going to be a percentage of those which broke and are returned and such. The rest are used by old people.
And because there's no apple news to speak of engadget has to keep the "apple news" coming.
@ajwoodhouse And this is how you remedy the situation?
@Atkins not really- I was just venting
@ajwoodhouse Ah. :)
I'd put money on those that don't buy apps still use it as a phone...cause it is an iPHONE afterall
@KungFuHamster It's a sucky phone on a sucky network. Sorry to break your heart.
I'm sure at least half of that 25% is too busy praying at the altar of Saurik and Geohot to rack up Apple app store downloads.
The other 25%... prolly jailbroken getting apps from Cydia, or maybe actually being used as... OMG... a phone!
Personally, I've not purchased any apps or songs in a long time. The App Store has sort of lost it's appeal to me. Last app I got was a bar code reader app, and I had to PURCHASE like 5 of them before I got one that would work with the particular type of bar code I was wanting to read, and do what I wanted to with it. I also downloaded every free one that mentioned the features I needed. The one that I finally got that worked didn't say anything about the features I needed in the description, the rest I got that didn't work all mentioned them.
This has been the case with almost every utility app I've needed/gotten, and it's just not nearly as intriguing any more. I spent around $10 on various apps that just simply didn't work as advertised. I don't care to try again.
I'm a bit shocked, but maybe people are just getting emails and using it like a phone?
Whatever the base, it's good that the technology impaired are counted in the data averages to offset the data hogs, so AT&T can't complain as much. :D
Porn?
just saying
@Spatev
That probably counts as "entertainment content from the Web".
You're misunderstanding the study. It's tracking downloads done from the device itself. It's not tracking downloads done through iTunes.
So those 25% of users may have lots of apps and music/movies, but some people do all their downloading from their computer then transfer the items via iTunes sync.
It doesn't mean they don't download anything, just not from the device.
Porn?
What are the other 25% being used for?
Porn
The other 20% are using a hacked iphone and not paying for their programs.
oh and 5% are grannies.
Is anyone really shocked that 25% use only the base functions of the iphone?
Let's see:
1. The most obvious is as a PHONE
2. Music/Video player
3. Text Messages/Email
4. Web browsing
5. Find your way when you are lost (Google maps is ok for a pinch even without turn by turn automatic directions)
6. Clock and Calendar
7. Weather updates
8. Camera (ok, it sucks)
9. Youtube
10. Calculator
..and I'm sure more that I missed, but for many people (I'm not one of them) this is plenty.
@tosvus
+1
I bet the other 25% of phones not visiting the AppStore are either bricks or broken or unused, and therefore of 100% of the iPhones that ever existed, 75% work as they should.
iPhones are the standard smart phone at my company (we have approx 300 deployed), and many users have zero 3rd Party apps- they just use it for phone, email, SMS, calendar, and web.
@THJ that's funny you say that because:
http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/09/the-iphone-is-not-a-smartphone/
But GTA kicks ass on the iphone, everyone should get it.
For a company phone...not so much. But lucky you.
Paperweights? Hood ornaments? Some weird rich guy who puts them in a display case? Who knows wat they use them for? Maybe theyre a vunch of old ladies who think their fancy mirrors...
I actually did think Opera Mini was a tiny concert for the longest time.
there still are plenty of stupid people on this planet who buy an iphone just to make calls or an ipod touch just to listen to music.....hell i have seen grandmothers that cant walk on their own, having their own iphone
....i hope you're proud of yourself apple!!!! ...damnit, they are proud:(
Smart headline :)
i think that 20% of users, not downloading apps, have been issued these phones by work... with pre loaded apps and maybe even the itunes store and app store disabled.
the other 5% just don't known or don't know how to set up the app store, maybe even opting to download them from the itunes user interface on there computer.
i think that 20% of users, not downloading apps, have been issued these phones by work... with pre loaded apps and maybe even the itunes store and app store disabled.
the other 5% just don't known or don't know how to set up the app store, maybe even opting to download them from the itunes user interface on there computer.