Americans and Mobile Computing: Key Trends in Consumer Research

Americans and Mobile Computing: Key Trends in Consumer Research Aaron W. Smith Senior Research Specialist Pew Internet Project Government Mobility Forum December 7, 2011 Washington, DC

Part of the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan “fact tank” based in Washington, DC
Provide high quality, objective data to thought leaders and policy makers
Funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts
All data is from nationally representative telephone surveys of…
U.S. adults age 18+ or U.S. teens ages 12-17
Drawn from dual-frame (landline + cell phone) samples

The Gadget Landscape The Rise of Ubiquitous Mobile Connectivity How Americans Use Their Phones Engagement With Mobile Activities and Applications The Meaning of Mobile What is the Value Users Place on Their Mobile Devices?

The Gadget Landscape

Cell phone use is on the rise
Changing Demographics of Cell Ownership

Cell phone use is on the rise In 2011, 84% of Adults Have a Cell Phone In 2000, 53% of adults owned a cell phone In 2011, ¼ of US households are cell only Mobile Grows, Desktop Use Declines % of U.S. Adults Who Own Each Type of Device

Cell phone use is on the rise 1/3 of US Adults are Smartphone Users 15% don’t know if their phone is a smartphone 13% don’t know what type of phone they own Smartphone Ownership is Highest Among… % of adults within each group who have a smartphone
Among low-income (<$30k HH income, 22% adoption):
39% of 18-29 have smartphone, 92% have cell
4% of 65+ have smartphone, more than half no cell
Based on May 2011 Pew Internet Tracking Survey

35% of smartphone owners / 15% of cell owners
Young adults (especially 18-24)
African Americans (mostly not pre-paid)
Major Smartphone Platforms Based on August 2011 Pew Internet Tracking Survey
College grads
HH income $75k or more
College grads
HH income $75k or more
Employed full-time

Based on Pew Internet Tracking Survey, 2010-2011 Tablet ownership rose from 4% to 10% between September 2010 and August 2011 Tablet and E-Reader Use is Growing
Tablet and e-reader ownership is highest among….
college graduates
adults with household incomes of $75,000+
Percent of US adults 18+ who own each type of gadget…

In 2011, Roughly 2/3 Adults are Wireless Internet Users Based on August 2011 Pew Internet Tracking Survey

How Americans Use Their Phones

Information of all kinds is portable Based on August 2011 Pew Internet Survey
The most active mobile users are:
Young adults (especially 18-29, but biggest drop-off around age 50)
College graduates
Adults living in urban or suburban areas
Parents
African Americans and Latinos
% of adult cell owners who use their phone to… Send/receive text messages 73% Take a picture 73 Access the internet 44 Send a photo or video to someone 54 Send or receive email 76 Record a video 59 Access a social networking site 59 Watch a video 54 Post a photo or video online 45 Access Twitter 15

Usage Patterns Also Vary by Phone Type Based on May 2011 Pew Internet Tracking Survey % of cell owners who use their phones to… Take pictures Text messaging Use the internet Use email Play games Social networking Use Twitter Watch videos Do online banking

Cell phone use is on the rise The typical user sends/receives 10 texts per day 31% of text messaging users prefer a text to a voice call but… It’s not necessarily a replacement—heavy text users also make a lot of voice calls Number of text messages sent/received per day Based on cell phone owners in each group Based on May 2011 Pew Internet Tracking Survey

App downloading is highest among…
Young adults
Higher income adults
College graduates
Adults living in urban or suburban areas
___________________________________________
Most app users use 5 or fewer apps regularly
About 1/3 are “ power users ” who use 6+ apps weekly
Nielsen data show the most popular apps are… Games News/Weather Map/Navigation Social Networking What About Apps? One in three adults download apps to a cell phone or tablet computer Based on August 2011 Pew Internet Tracking Survey

From Superhighway to Bypass Apps provide direct connections to information % of app downloaders who have downloaded each type of app… Based on August 2011 Pew Internet Tracking Survey

28% of cell owners use their phones to get directions or recommendations based on their current location, but only 5% use check-in services on their phone
_____________________
1/3 of adults use mobile devices to check weather or to find local restaurants or businesses
1/5 use mobile devices to get information about local traffic or transportation
1/6 use mobile devices to get discounts/use coupons at local stores
Information is Location-Based Based on Jan 2011 and May 2011 Pew Internet Surveys

The Meaning of Mobile

Cell phone use is on the rise What one word best describes how you feel about your cell phone? 72% of responses positive, 16% negative Based on May 2011 Pew Internet Tracking Survey

Mobile (and smartphones especially) changes the relationship between information, time and space… 51% of cell owners use phone to get information they need right away (smartphone owners: 79%) 42% use phone to entertainment themselves when bored (smartphone owners: 72%) and 40% have been helped by phone in an emergency situation but… 29% turn phone off occasionally just to get a break 13% have pretended to be using their phone to avoid interacting with people around them 36% of smartphone owners have been frustrated by slow download times, and 34% have had trouble doing something recently because they didn’t have their phone Based on May 2011 Pew Internet Tracking Survey

25% of smartphone owners say that they use their phone for most of their online browsing
_____________________
Some do so out of convenience, some out of necessity:
84% of these “cell mostly” users own a desktop or laptop computer, but 32% lack high-speed access at home
Within the smartphone universe, “cell mostly” internet users skew young, non-white, and low income/education
Cutting the Internet Cord Based on May 2011 Pew Internet Tracking Survey

77 % use their tablet every day
Users spend an average of 1 hour, 35 minutes on their device daily
53% get news on their tablet daily
---------------------------
Other common daily activities:
Email (54%)
Social Networks (39%)
Games (30%)
Read Books (17%)
Watch Videos (13%)
Focus on Tablet Users Based on 2011 Pew Research tablet user panel surveys

Information purveyors can… Provide people with direct access to the information that is most important to them Provide timely information when and where people need it most Make their information portable Operate in a 24/7 world, be constantly connected Connect their information to real-world places Create opportunities for information immersion and augmented realities You can be a… Filter Curator Node in a Network Community Builder Lifesaver Tour Guide What does all of this mean for YOU?

Aaron W. Smith
Senior Research Specialist
Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project
[email_address]
Twitter:
@pewinternet
@aaron_w_smith
All data available at pewinternet.org

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Americans and Mobile Computing: Key Trends in Consumer Research

by Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project

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