Eight in ten of us carry a cell phone. According to a Pew internet study out recently, we have not only accepted having a cell phone in our pockets or purses, but are beginning to embrace the cell phone as a mini-computer. Internet usage on cell phones has grown so exponentially that cell phone companies are starting to limit our use of their bandwidth by eliminating unlimited plans.
It turns out that 43% of adults with cell phones now have apps on those phones. While app usage is much more concentrated among younger, more educated and more affluent users, the growth in apps and apps use is phenomenal, considering only a few short years ago there were no optional apps for cell phones.
29% of adult cell phone users have downloaded an app to their phone and 10% of cell phone users download an app every week. The most popular apps are games, followed by news, weather, maps, social networking, and music.
What all this means to marketers is even greater fragmentation in reaching consumers. While the computer monitors on our desks and laptops are getting bigger, we are embracing smaller screens for similar uses with our cell phones and tablets. Websites will soon require both large screen and small screen versions to maximize effectiveness for each viewing platform.
