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App downloads hit 1.76 billion during holiday week
With so many new smartphones and tablets in use thanks to holiday gifting, it follows that app download rates are typically elevated between Christmas Day and the first day of the new year, but 2012 was a special year. Flurry reports that between December 25 and December 31, a whopping 1.76 billion apps were downloaded on iOS and Android devices, which just happens to be a new weekly sales record. The weekly average for the beginning of December stood at 1.07 billion, making the final week of the year 65 percent more lucrative for app sellers. For comparison, the last seven days of 2011 saw sales peak at 1.2 billion. As far as countries go, the biggest app download hotspot is the US, followed by China, the UK, Germany and France. The United States alone was responsible for over 600 million downloads in the final week of 2012. [Via: GigaOM]
Tablet and smartphone use detailed by age group, gender
In an effort to better understand the growing tablet and smartphone markets, Flurry Analytics studied over 30 million consumers to paint a picture of just who is utilizing the devices, and for what purpose. Some of the takeaways fall in line with what you might expect: The 25-34 age group dominates both smartphone and tablet use, gadget owners are more likely to use their devices between 7 PM and 11 PM, etc. But there are also a few more interesting tidbits. For example, while the age spread of smartphone ownership peaks between 25 and 34 and falls sharply as age progresses, tablet ownership is much more spread out. The average age of a tablet owner is 34 years, but the 35-54 age bracket still accounts for 24 percent of the overall total. Those in the 55-plus group make up 17 percent of the total, which is quite large when compared to the 7 percent of overall smartphone owners in that same age bracket. Another somewhat surprising statistic is the amount of time people spend playing games on their tablets. Of all the ways those surveyed use their devices, tablet owners played games 67 percent of the time they picked up their slates. This is compared to smartphone owners who played games 39 percent of the time they were using their handsets. Flurry also found that while tablets were used less often when compared to smartphones, the amount of time spent using the device each session beat out that of its smaller counterpart. You can check out the full breakdown of results on Flurry's blog, and then let us know if you see any glaring abnormalities when compared to your own experiences.
iOS and Android continue chipping away at mobile gaming market, consoles remain strong
Let's face it -- smartphones (namely, iOS and Android devices) are slowly chipping away at the portable gaming market. If you recall, Apple took a nice slice of the market-share pie -- and as you'll notice in the picture above, we're seeing the same trend this time around. According to data from Flurry and NPD Group, iOS and Android are earning a sizable chunk of the revenue in the portable gaming software sphere, with the Nintendo DS's dominant market share dropping from 70 percent in 2009 to just 57 percent in 2010 to accommodate the newcomers. We may be seeing the decrease in relative revenue because the PSP and DS are on the way out to make room for the NGP and 3DS -- however, this chart speaks only of the current-gen portables. But hey, it's easy for almost anyone to spend a single buck on a full-fledged game, right? Head past the break for some more videogame revenue stats, if you please.
Is this proof of a Verizon iPhone? (updated)
According to a tip we've just received, Apple's long-rumored, hotly-desired Verizon iPhone could turn out to be more than mere fantasy, though we warn you, this is nothing to start placing bets on. If you believe the above graphic -- a snippet of data allegedly from the recently reliable Flurry Analytics -- then at least a handful of non-AT&T phones are currently in play. The numbers show a polling of carriers a particular app is being tested on, and there's no denying that Verizon is most certainly on that list... albeit in small numbers. Now obviously this is in no way conclusive evidence of anything, and you've got to allow for the possibility -- however pathetic and slim -- that someone is just Photoshopping this little infographic, but if it's accurate, well... that's something. Update: Proof? Probably not. We've been in touch with Flurry who thinks the data is from Verizon DSL or FiOS subscribers using their iPhone at home over WiFi.
Apple increases gaming share at the expense of DS and PSP
Apple's intentions to dominate handheld gaming were already pretty clear back in March of 2008 as game studio after game studio lined up behind the iPhone (and iPod touch by extension). Now look at the graphics above. Yeah, based on the report from Flurry Analytics, Apple's casual gaming approach is carving out a nice slice of the US revenue pie related to gaming software. The PSP was hit especially hard dropping from a 20% share in 2008 to just 11% of US revenue last year. Numbers that highlight just how ridiculous John Koller's spin maneuver was after the iPad launch. Speaking of which, you have to wonder how these numbers might be affected once developers have a chance to spread out on the iPad, looming Nintendo 3DS or not. Especially with early data showing robust pre-sales and games accounting for almost half of the iPad apps being tested. See that chart after the break. Mmm, pie.
