comScore, Inc released a study of touchscreen mobile phone adoption in
the U.S.and touchscreen phone adoption is growing rapidly. iPhone, LG Dare, LG Voyager (which also has a keyboard) BlackBerry Storm and Palm Treo top the list. The LG Dare used to be one of the few Verizon feature phones with email access that did not require a data plan. The younger crowd seems to be more "touchy" with higher percentages of touchscreen users in the younger demographics.
The study showed a significant 159-percent growth rate during the
past year to 23.8 million users in August 2009.
The growth in
touchscreen device adoption substantially outpaced the already strong
63-percent growth in U.S. adoption of smartphones. iPhone leads
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Touchscreen Smartphone Adoption 3 Months Ending August 2009 vs. August 2008 Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers, Age 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens |
|||
| Device Type | Subscribers (000) | ||
| Aug-08 | Aug-09 | Percent Change | |
| Touchscreen | 9,219 | 23,843 | 159% |
| Smartphone | 20,735 | 33,779 | 63% |
"Touchscreen phones have quickly gained adoption as new devices have
flooded the mobile marketplace," said Mark Donovan, comScore senior
vice president of Mobile. "It's clear that consumers are embracing
touchscreen interfaces that allow them to easily navigate the
increasingly powerful and complex services afforded by new phones. This
is a trend that should continue to pick up as additional touchscreen
devices, many of them running the Android operating system, arrive in
the market before the holiday shopping season."
Top 10 Touchscreen Device Families
The Apple iPhone ranked as the top touchscreen device family with 32.9
percent of touchscreen device users age 13 and older, nearly four times
larger than the market share of the next largest device family, the LG
Dare (8.7 percent). LG Voyager ranked third with 7.8 percent of the
market, followed by the Blackberry Storm (7.0 percent) and Palm Treo
(6.5 percent).
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Top Touchscreen Device Families by Share of Device Users Three Months Ending August 2009 Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers, Age 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens |
|
| Device Family | Share (%) of Touchscreen Device Users |
| Total Touchscreen | 100.0% |
| Apple iPhone | 32.9% |
| LG Dare | 8.7% |
| LG Voyager | 7.8% |
| Blackberry Storm | 7.0% |
| Palm Treo | 6.5% |
| Samsung Instinct | 5.0% |
| T-Mobile G1 | 3.6% |
| HTC Touch | 3.3% |
| Samsung Glyde | 2.7% |
| LG Xenon | 2.6% |
"The iPhone clearly set the trend in the industry for touchscreen
devices, so it's no surprise that it has the largest share of the
market," added Donovan. "But as other players have entered the
touchscreen market with compelling devices, competition is clearly
heating up."
Touchscreen Users Younger than Average Mobile Phone User
Smartphones in general and touchscreen devices specifically tend to be
more popular among younger users. While 38.8 percent of all mobile
subscribers (age 13+) are under the age of 35, 51.4 percent of
smartphone users are in this age cohort, as are 57.7 percent of
touchscreen device users. In fact, a significant 20.6 percent of
touchscreen users are in the narrow age range of 18-24. Meanwhile, less
than 5 percent of smartphone and touchscreen device users are age 65
and older, compared to 13 percent of the total U.S. mobile audience.
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Demographic Profile of Smartphone and Touchscreen Users Three Months Ending August 2009 Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers, Age 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens |
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| Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers | |||
| Total | Smartphone | Touchscreen | |
| Total Subscribers | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| Age 13-17 | 7.8% | 6.3% | 8.5% |
| Age 18-24 | 13.1% | 16.4% | 20.6% |
| Age 25-34 | 17.9% | 28.7% | 28.6% |
| Age 35-44 | 17.6% | 22.9% | 18.8% |
| Age 45-54 | 18.2% | 13.6% | 12.3% |
| Age 55-64 | 12.4% | 7.5% | 7.3% |
| Age 65+ | 13.1% | 4.5% | 3.9% |