By Luanne Teoh on 11-10-2011

The share of adult cell phone owners who have downloaded an app to their phone nearly doubled in the past two years – rising from 22% in September 2009 to 38% in August 2011 according to an August 2001 Pew Internet report.

What’s interesting to see in this report is the demographics with the most significant increase in app downloads in the last year is comprised of three main groups:

1) The 30-49 year olds.

2) College educated

3) Those who make $75,000 or more a year.

This shows that while the mobile smartphone market is experiencing growth overall, accessibility is still limited to the more educated and higher income earners.

As the sales of mobile devices gains popularity over the desktop, the inevitable direction and growth of mobile will be in the following areas and also across a wider demographic.

• Price and affordability — As with any electronic device, the price of consumer electronics will only decrease. The recent unveiling of the Kindle Fire by Amazon for $199 is an indication of the industry shifting to be more competitive. Hardware maker HP has also announced plans to re-enter the tablet market with the Slate 2 tablet after it changed its mind about exiting the business recently. The drop in price of smartphones and smartphone plans across mobile carriers will have a huge impact on the adoption rate overall.
• Mobile apps — To date there are 500,000 apps on the Android market and almost 600,000 apps on iOS. This number is only set to increase as demand for apps increase. New apps will increase the demand for smartphones and competition overall and a drop in prices will be inevitable.
• 4G LTE penetration — The adoption of global 4G LTE standards will increase media consumption through mobile phones. This development will affect the way users share content on their mobile phone. This will keep narrowing the gap between a computer and mobile phone making the mobile phone an indispensable device.
• Mobile Commerce and Mobile Wallet — More and more brands are adopting mobile commerce and mobile wallet as part of their multi-channel strategy. As this area develops more at the point- of-purchase for hardware and software — the convenience and seamless shopping experience will help spur the mobile adoption rate across the board.

Download the full report here.

Chart and graph courtesy of Pew Internet

About Luanne Teoh

Luanne is a senior correspondent for BizTechDay focused on Small Business Tech, Mobile and China based in San Francisco. In the last 17 years, she has helped launch start-ups and turned around failing operations. Her international work experience include both public and private corporations in Southeast Asia, Australia and North America. She has previously worked for Oracle Corporation, SonyBMG Music, Universal Music, Catcha Media and SOH Inc. Apart from a keen interest in technology, Luanne is also and avid explorer of the globe, cultures and people.

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