Time for some news of the truly shocking variety. According to a survey by M:Metrics, a company that researches mobile media, an astounding 85% of iPhone users accessed news and information on their device in January of this year. This, compared to 58% of all smartphone users (those who use Blackberrys, iPhones, Symbian-powered, or Windows Mobile devices), and just 13% of the market average.
M:Metrics also cites numbers saying 31% of iPhone users watched mobile TV and/or video, against 14% of smartphone users, and just 6% of the market, and 74% used their iPhones to listen to music, as opposed to 28% of smartphone users and almost 7% of the market as a whole. They also paint a picture of the iPhone’s demographic, who are described as more likely than average cell phone users to be “male, aged 25-34, earn more that $100,000 and have a college degree.” (Well, three out of four isn’t so bad, I guess. Think I can swing a a raise?).
The firm points to AT&T’s unlimited data plan as one factor in the secret of the iPhone’s success, but the big reason seems pretty obvious to us: the iPhone’s UI makes such tasks friendly, easy, and, most of all, fun. Never underestimate the power of a good UI. Despite the lack of Flash, browsing the web on an iPhone and on a Windows Mobile device is—if you’ll pardon the expression—apples and oranges.
You can find M:Metrics’s full numbers at the link above.
[via New York Times]
