For Data-Centric Mobile Users, Android Leads the Way

by Sam Dean - Dec. 10, 2010Comments (1)

Researchers at Arieso have just reported the results of a series of studies on smartphone users and you probably won't be surprised to hear that iPhone 4 and Android phones are leading the next wave of mobile data usage, but you may be surprised to hear that Android users are the hungriest for data of all. Arieso’s results showed that users with handsets based on Android are particularly “data hungry”, scoring higher than both the iPhone3G and iPhone 4 in terms of data call volumes, time connected to the network, and data volume (in kilobits per subscriber) uploaded and downloaded. In a world where what smartphone you carry is a status symbol for many, Android users are obviously putting their phones to constant, data-centric use.

Pundits such as Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak have already predicted that Android will become the dominant smartphone platform, but its future will still depend on useful apps and overall utility. According to Arieso, both tablet and smartphone users who have Android are moving lots of data back and forth between their devices and the cloud:

"Android-powered smartphone users also score highest in both the 'uplink data volume' and the 'downlink data' categories. For example, Samsung Galaxy users typically upload 126% more data than iPhone3G users, and HTC Desire users download 41% more data than iPhone3G users. "

Arieso concludes that a new breed of mobile device user has come to fruition, with an "insatibable appetite" for data. That may be over the top, but there is no doubt that most of us are doing more data-centric tasks with phones and other devices than ever before (would you find it easy to go a day without your phone?). Marketers are increasingly focused on teen users of smartphones, who are rarely separated from their phones. It's good to see that Android--an open source platform--is leading the way in data-centric tasks as all of this plays out.