gravitytank surveyed 804 smartphone users, 301 of whom own app-enabled phones (either Apple's iPhone or HTC's G1) to study how they use their handsets and integrate apps into daily life
According to gravitytank's research, 50% of app-phone users view apps as essential tools for getting more done and staying organized. They view apps as an indispensable tool to manage information, tasks, work, and relationships in their busy lives. The profile of today's app users doesn't match the male-dominated, business-focused image of the stereotypical smartphone owner. The new generation of serious app users is gender-balanced and highly educated. Their ranks include plenty of full-time moms and college students.
What's consistent across these users is that they're time-pressed, and they want help: 78% of app phone users believe there are never enough hours in the day, and 77% report they are always looking for ways to use their time more effectively. That makes the fact that app phone users report spending, on average, two hours per day with their phones, with almost 40% of that time devoted to app use (not including text, email, and calls), all the more remarkable. Most of that is spent in short bursts -- our survey shows that app users interact with their phones 30 times a day. All that time spent with app-phones comes at the expense of other devices: Serious app users report that they now use their TVs, laptops, and MP3 players less because of the functionality enabled by their mobile apps.
Users who see apps as essential tools to get things done are willing to pay for their benefits: 69% of these users tell us they have purchased an app in the last month, spending a total of $6 on average. Of the average 21 apps currently on their phones, approximately 25%, are paid. As Greg, a sales manager and app user from Chicago, told us, so long as an app delivers, "paying is a no brainer, if you think it's going to make your life better."
gravitytank's research indicates that app-enabled phone handsets that will change how we organize and live our lives in profound ways. As this trend continues, we anticipate these changes will extend beyond individual phone owners, and even beyond the traditional domain of the technology or mobile wireless indus tries. Apps are poised have a dramatic impact in a wide range of fields, from education and health care to retail and financial ser vices.
"As software, apps are very lightweight," says gravitytank's Winnick. "Yet they represent something large and important: the advent of a mobile technology paradigm that may be just as significant as the birth of the Web during the mid-1990s. When we look at how apps will influence consumer behavior and the way in which software will be developed, distributed, and sold, we see that we are just beginning a social and technological transformation that will have major implications for years to come."