70% of Mobile App Users now Surf the Web more on their Mobile than on their PC

Published 31st March 2009

Mobile App Store, GetJar, Reaches 400 Million Downloads, Releases Survey on Consumption of Mobile Content by Users


Rapid growth in the use of mobile applications is leading to significant changes in consumer choice and behaviour, according to a study carried out by GetJar, the world’s leading independent app store. Results of a survey of over 2000 of its European users, released as the company reached its 400 million mobile applications download milestone, revealed that they are increasingly using mobile social networking apps instead of making voice calls, now take as much news from their mobile as they do from newspapers and TV, and surf the web more on their mobile than they do via their PC.

Over 2000 European GetJar app store consumers, typically heavy users of mobile content, were asked a range of questions, including whether they used their PC or mobile more for accessing the Internet, with 70% saying they now prefer to use their mobile to surf. Natural gaps in their day are now being filled with mobile app usage – 43% of those surveyed do so either when travelling on public transport, at night before going to sleep (17%) or just when they are doing nothing else in particular (14%).

Mobile social networking is becoming an increasingly important way for mobile users to keep in touch, with 30% stating that they now use their mobile more for social networking - via applications such as Nimbuzz, eBuddy and Mig33 – than they do for voice calls. This trend is reflected in the popularity of email and messaging apps which are the first choice for 25% of app users, ahead of games (24%) and music (15%). A massive 62% use their mobile to play games more than a PC or gaming console, clear indication that the quality of mobile games and the accessibility of the mobile phone are making mobile gaming a mass market trend.

Consumers are also increasingly using their mobile as their primary source of news, at the expense of traditional mass media channels such as newspapers and TV, with 49% of those surveyed preferring to get their news via their mobile phone.

Respondents revealed that the worldwide growth in mobile apps – GetJar alone supplies over 30 million downloads per month – is led by word of mouth recommendation (33%) and by mobile browsing and search (17%). The ‘Apple effect’ was less pronounced, with only 3% reporting that they had first heard about mobile apps via Apple’s advertising campaigns. Only 43% of those surveyed use their operators portal to look for the mobile content they want, meaning a massive 57% are going “off-deck” to to satisfy their content cravings.

“Mobile apps have quickly moved from an early adopter audience to a mainstream reality for today’s mobile users,” explained Ilja Laurs, Founder and CEO of GetJar Networks. “The mobile is something we always carry with us and the quality and variety of applications available is allowing us to begin to replace certain day to day activities with mobile activities to make the best use of our time. Our survey also seems to confirm that this has become a global trend, which applies not just to smartphone users in developed markets but also to everyday, low-mid end handset users in developing countries as well. Apps, it would seem, really are for everyone.”
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Research Methodology

GetJar conducted a quantitative survey on the GetJar network. The company polled 15,000 respondents across the globe, this release details responses from over 2,000 European consumers.

About GetJar Networks

GetJar is the world’s leading independent app store, where consumers can download apps for any phone. GetJar’s developer community sees more than 30 million consumer downloads every month from among over 20,000 unique applications, from countries as diverse as the USA, UK, China, India and Indonesia. GetJar is backed by marquee investors such as Accel Partners and is based in the UK, Silicon Valley and Lithuania. For more information, visit www.getjar.com.