Flurry Analytics measured strong growth for new smartphones and
application downloads over the Thanksgiving weekend. There was a total increase of 31% of new smartphones over the previous week.
Flurry is detected by more than
55,000 applications in the market, which includes Flurry Analytics. The
bulk of growth is driven by Apple iOS and a number of recent
break-out Android smartphones, including the Samsung Galaxy S, Motorola
Droid 2 and LG Optimus S.
New smartphones detected on Black Friday jumped by 57% over the previous
week's Friday. Total new smartphone growth for the holiday weekend,
compared to the same four-day period from the prior week, was 31%.
Flurry contends that the surge demonstrates that consumers appear to be
buying and activating smartphones early in the season for personal use.
This early indicator suggests that strong spending on smartphones as
gifts throughout the season should continue.
App consumption over Thanksgiving weekend also showed solid growth. Downloads on Thanksgiving Day led all
days of the holiday weekend with 54%, versus new handset growth, which
led on Black Friday. At 39% growth, Black Friday applications were also
strong. Total week-over-week download growth was 25%.
Christmas is historically the strongest season of app downloads to
mobile phones. As consumers receive new handsets, they immediately
personalize their handsets with new content. With early growth
indicators for both handset and download growth, Flurry predicts Holiday
2010 will deliver another record-breaking season for application
consumption and mobile device sales.