People buy Android phones but don't use them?

[MovingForward]

Check out the Internet usage stats by OS at NetMarketShare:
Market share for mobile, browsers, operating systems and search engines | NetMarketShare

Why is it we hear about so many Android activations, but that results in only 16% of mobile traffic?

Are people not using their Android phones, or is NetMarketShare not looking at the right part of the user-agent string?

 

[zuben el genub]

I use my phone as a PDA, and mostly over wifi.

 

[Swizz]

Just at first glance, that report only takes into account mobile web browsing. So it probably doesn't include the numerous apps that also make use of a data connection.

If you want a better perspective of total data usage per month:
Nielsen: Android Data Usage Only Averages 0.6GB A Month - Do Tiered Data Plans Make Sense?

It's an olderish report, but may give you a better idea of how much data each OS is actually using versus just web browsing.

 

[Guamguy]

Mobile browsing is only one metric of engagement, and a vastly incomplete one that is.

A far more accurate reflection of engagement comes with measuring data usage per user, and mobile ad impressions per user. This is how you account for app usage.

And in both metrics, Android is tops.

 

[pawdog]

The data tiers along with battery life just stop any exploration while on the data connection.

As far as web browsing, many major sites have apps that work better than browsers. I find myself going to the browser only as a last resort.

 

[MovingForward]

Helpful feedback - thanks.

 

[Lombardi]

There are still a lot of people that don't really use their smart phones to their full potential. My mom has an evo and dug through her purse for 5 minutes looking for a pen¿ while her fõn was in her hand...ummm

 

[jerofld]

I've always been curious about that activation number. As in, I'm always curious how many of those activations are people flashing ROMs? Or hard resetting/resetting to factory defaults, that sort of thing. Surely, it probably isn't a large percentage of it. But I have reactivated my tablet 3-4 times in a given day trying to find a ROM I liked after I first rooted it. My current phone gets reactivated at least twice a week when I try a new ROM. When I was messing around with my DX and just learning about root, I must have reflashed that 4-5 times a day.

As for those numbers in the OP. It does not include the array of Android browsers. Opera Mini and the default Android browsers are only ones included. Is Opera Mini available on any other mobile platform? I know it is on Android, but does Symbian have an Opera variant?

Also, how is it collecting this data? Through the user agent is my best guess. Android browsers can hide as an iPad or iPhone, but iPhone/pads don't have an Android option. And all mobile devices can hide themselves as "desktop". So I think the numbers are diluted.

 

[IOWA]

People seem to forget that as Android users we can actually change the user agent string and often do.