Mobile future in focus report 2013 via comScore

INTRODUCTION

For each of the past several years, many tech industry
pundits have proudly proclaimed that the upcoming year
will be “the year of mobile.” And while it may be true that
mobile is continually becoming more important to the
digital landscape, the industry is only now undergoing its
most significant changes.

This report examines the mobile and connected device
landscape with a focus on the U.S. market but includes
highlights from several other markets: the UK, France,
Germany, Spain, Italy, Canada and Japan.

DATA NOTE
This report is based on a combination of sources in the comScore Mobile suite
of products, including comScore MobiLens®, comScore TabLens®, comScore
Mobile Metrix® and comScore Device Essentials™. The report also includes data
from comScore Media Metrix® Multi-Platform (Beta). Smartphones are defined
throughout the report as mobile phones that use the Google Android, Apple iOS,
BlackBerry, Windows Phone and other similar platforms.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION,
PLEASE CONTACT:

Andrew Lipsman
comScore, Inc.
+1 312 775 6510
press@comscore.com

Carmela Aquino
comScore, Inc.
+1 703 438 2024
press@comscore.com

3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

7 Executive Summary

11 Mobile and Connected Device Landscape

16 Mobile Network Dynamics

21 Mobile OEM Dynamics

27 Mobile Platform Dynamics

33 Mobile Media Consumption

39
International: Mobile Landscape Across EU5,
Japan and Canada

43
Conclusion

47 About comScore

51 Methodology and Definitions

5

With smartphones
surpassing 125 million
U.S. consumers and
tablets now owned
by more than 50 million,
we have crossed into
the Brave New Digital World.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

2012 was another milestone year in the life of mobile as
continued innovation in hardware, software and device
functionality lays the groundwork for the future of the
industry. Smartphones and tablets are ushering in a new
era of multi-platform media, with consumers becoming
increasingly agnostic about how, when and where they
engage with content. This report will examine how these
rapidly changing market dynamics have shaped the current
U.S. and international mobile marketplaces and what these
changes mean for the coming year as comScore helps
bring the mobile future into focus.

MULTI-PLATFORM DYNAMICS SHAPING THE ‘BRAVE NEW DIGITAL WORLD’
With smartphones surpassing 125 million U.S. consumers and tablets now owned
by more than 50 million, we have crossed into the Brave New Digital World – a
new paradigm of digital media fragmentation in which consumers are always
connected. This constant flow of information is not only changing how, when and
where consumers engage with media, but is also disrupting established revenue
streams, making it paramount for businesses to adapt or risk being left behind.
Despite this uncomfortable change, media companies have new opportunities
to monetize incremental consumption activity while marketers have the ability to
optimize campaigns for maximum effectiveness across multiple channels. Now is
the time for businesses to get smarter about how their audiences are behaving in
this multi-platform world.

SMARTPHONES SURPASS 50 PERCENT PENETRATION AND BREAK INTO
‘LATE MAJORITY’ OF ADOPTERS
Five years after the launch of the original iPhone, the smartphone market has come
of age in the past year with a majority of U.S. mobile consumers now owning
these devices featuring advanced capabilities and multimedia access. The most
rapid part of the technology adoption curve may now be in the industry’s rear
view mirror as smartphones begin to penetrate the “late majority” of consumers.
Because these consumers tend to be somewhat resistant to new technology and
more price-sensitive than the average consumer, gaining adoption in this segment
requires the industry to evolve its product mix and marketing strategies.

7

ANDROID AND iOS CONTROL U.S. SMARTPHONE MARKET
Google’s Android OS, which has been adopted by multiple OEMs, and Apple’s
iOS, which is carried exclusively on iPhones, have come to dominate the U.S.
smartphone landscape with nearly 90 percent of the market today. Both platforms
have continued to grow their respective market shares at the expense of
BlackBerry, Windows and HP. This market share dominance is being reinforced by
the two platforms’ well-developed app ecosystems, making it even more difficult
for the competing platforms to narrow the gap.

SAMSUNG MAKES SPLASH IN SMARTPHONE OEM MARKET
Apple continues to gain ground as the leading smartphone Original Equipment
Manufacturer (OEM), but Samsung has seen the most explosive growth in this
market over the past couple of years with a year-over-year increase of more
than 100 percent and a two-year increase of more than 400 percent. While Apple
maintains a healthy lead over #2 Samsung, the gap has been steadily narrowing
during a year in which the rivalry heated up between the two smartphone
OEM leaders.

APP USAGE, LED BY FACEBOOK AND GOOGLE, DOMINATES MOBILE WEB
Consumers have demonstrated a clear preference for engaging with content on
smartphones via apps, which account for 4 out of every 5 mobile minutes, rather
than the mobile web. As a result, the dynamics of mobile media consumption are
proving different from the traditional web. Because of the scarcity of app real estate
on the smartphone home-screen, consumers are spending more time concentrated
on the apps of major media brands rather than with the long tail of brands. Facebook
finished the year as the top U.S. smartphone app, followed by five different Google
apps, as major media brands dominated the top of the rankings.

‘SHOWROOMING’ STIRS MAJOR DISRUPTION IN RETAIL AS MOBILE
ENTERS BRICK-AND-MORTAR
Many U.S. consumers have come to rely on their smartphones to assist with their
in-store shopping, arming them with information in the palm of their hands to ensure
they are getting the right product at the best available price. This behavior, known
as “showrooming,” is putting significant price pressure on brick-and-mortar retailers
as they are forced to compete with e-commerce retailers within the confines of their
own stores. With the pricing power so clearly in the hands of the consumer today,
the retail industry is rapidly being disrupted as e-commerce grows at 4x the rate of
traditional retail while accounting for 1 out of every 10 retail dollars. Brick-and-mortar
retailers are being faced with the need to quickly adjust with aggressive defense
strategies to protect their businesses and ensure long-term survival.

8

HIGH-SPEED MOBILE CONNECTIVITY HAS UNLEASHED MOBILE
CONTENT CONSUMPTION
The improved availability of high-speed Internet access has significantly enhanced
the average user’s media consumption experience, contributing to a rapid uptick
in mobile media consumption. Default Wi-Fi accessibility for smartphones and
tablets has not only off-loaded bandwidth from networks, but has also contributed
to a better on-premise (e.g. in-home) browsing experience for users. While Wi-Fi
usage has become more prevalent, networks speeds have also improved with
4G and LTE technology as an increasing number of phones on the market are
enabled for these speeds. The net result for mobile Internet users is a faster,
more seamless browsing experience that has resulted in mobile channels now
accounting for 1 out of every 3 digital media consumption minutes.

9

Multi-platform
consumption is today’s
new reality.
1 in 3 minutes spent
online is now spent
beyond the PC.

MOBILE AND CONNECTED DEVICE
LANDSCAPE

RAPID ADOPTION OF SMARTPHONES AND TABLETS USHERS
IN ‘BRAVE NEW DIGITAL WORLD’
The past year saw mobile media consumption grow exponentially as smartphone
adoption surged nearly 30 percent to more than 120 million owners, while tablets
emerged as one of the fastest selling devices in history to reach nearly 50 million
owners. Tablets have already achieved a level of adoption in three years that it took
smartphones nearly a decade to reach from when they were originally introduced.

140
Smartphone and
120 Tablet Ownership
(MM)
100
Source: comScore
80 MobiLens & TabLens,
U.S., 2003-2012
60

40

20

0
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Smartphone Owners Tablet Owners

Smartphones and tablets are completely reshaping the way consumers connect
with content and experience media, with audiences fragmenting even further
as attention gets shared across platforms. In this Brave New Digital World,
the fundamental economics of digital media are at stake if shifting between
platforms means trading dollars for dimes. At the same time, an overall increase
in media engagement also means more monetization opportunities for media
companies and a greater ability for marketers to optimize campaigns across
platforms. Digital businesses still have a chance to effectively navigate this
transition and maximize their opportunities while mitigating their risks. Doing so will
require a firm grasp of the multi-platform landscape and an understanding of how
consumer usage patterns are shifting. Those who fail to devise an effective multi-
platform strategy will likely be left behind.

11

MULTI-PLATFORM CONSUMPTION IS TODAY’S NEW REALITY
The digital media landscape is already well into this transition, and smartphone
and tablet usage can no longer be considered a mere rounding error in digital
consumer behavior. comScore Media Metrix® Multi-Platform (Beta), which
provides an unduplicated view of digital media audiences and consumption
across desktop computers, smartphones and tablets, reveals that more than 1 in 3
minutes (37 percent) is now spent beyond the PC.

Share of Digital Media
Time Spent: Desktop

63%
Computer vs. Mobile
(Smartphone + Tablet)
Source: comScore Media
Metrix Multi-Platform
(Beta), U.S., Dec-2012
Desktop
37%
Mobile

As digital consumers become more reliant on their smartphones and tablets for
everyday content consumption, we can expect this share to rise over time and
perhaps take over majority share during the course of the next year. Envisioning
this reality places a premium not only on getting the mobile channels right, but also
on proving their value in short order.

MORE PLATFORMS MEANS EXTENDED REACH FOR MEDIA COMPANIES
While desktop-based Internet usage has not seen notable declines for the majority
of content categories and leading digital properties, usage does appear to be
leveling off as incremental usage shifts to smartphones and tablets. By accounting
for these incremental audiences, media companies are able to demonstrate
significantly wider scale to advertisers, along with the ability to provide unique
marketing experiences according to the medium.

The average Top 25 digital media property extended its reach via mobile channels
by 29 percent. Certain mobile-oriented properties such as Pandora (+155 percent
reach), ESPN (+59 percent) and Twitter (+46 percent) are extending their reach
by an even greater percentage. Even those with a relatively modest incremental
reach in the teens are recognizing that mobile channels represent more than a
mere rounding error.

12

TOTAL DIGITAL % INCREMENTAL Top 25 Digital
TOP 25 DIGITAL MOBILE
PROPERTIES
POPULATION PC (000)
(000)
AUDIENCE VIA Properties by Digital
(000) MOBILE Population (000)
1 Google Sites 223,445 193,757 113,650 15% Source: comScore Media
2 Yahoo! Sites 206,830 185,847 92,218 11%
(Beta), U.S., Dec-2012
3 Facebook.com 185,335 150,294 97,739 23%
4 Microsoft Sites 178,737 170,947 55,190 5%
5 Amazon Sites 159,630 128,227 80,476 24%
6 AOL, Inc. 140,252 117,628 62,360 19%
7 Glam Media 128,317 110,555 50,428 16%
8 Ask Network 121,833 104,148 47,972 17%
9 Apple Inc. 108,580 83,722 51,548 30%
10 Turner Digital 104,897 85,666 44,675 22%
11 CBS Interactive 104,415 87,121 42,135 20%
12 Wikimedia Foundation 103,644 85,883 41,700 21%
Sites
13 eBay 95,498 77,725 39,489 23%
14 Demand Media 89,208 74,924 33,406 19%
15 Comcast 88,586 71,091 37,300 25%
NBCUniversal
16 Viacom Digital 80,614 71,695 22,312 12%
17 Federated Media 78,680 64,639 30,105 22%
Publishing
18 The Weather Channel 69,749 48,928 34,877 43%
19 Wal-Mart 66,208 52,203 26,734 27%
20 Pandora.com 65,838 25,863 52,595 155%
21 Answers.com Sites 64,931 49,171 28,006 32%
22 Gannett Sites 63,573 48,228 27,523 32%
23 ESPN 61,505 38,660 34,616 59%
24 VEVO 59,790 56,793 5,504 5%
25 Twitter.com 59,323 40,659 29,629 46%

The future revenue streams of these media companies depend on effectively
delivering content and commerce to their consumers through these channels
and demonstrating why they are an important part of the marketing mix. Failure to
meet consumer expectations and aggressively prove the value of these additional
channels in 2013 could spell a very rocky economic transition by the time 2014
comes around.

13

The average Top 25
digital media property
extended its reach
via mobile channels
by 29 percent.

FRAGMENTED MEDIA LANDSCAPE ALSO DRIVES DIFFERENT
USAGE PATTERNS
With so many consumers becoming “digital omnivores” accessing media
content at different points in the day across varying devices, there has also been
an evolution in behavioral patterns around when people tend to consume content
using each respective platform. More content availability means the emergence
of new consumption occasions and a greater amount of overall engagement with
digital media for the average consumer. Mobile platforms, in particular, are creating
occasions for consumption when people are either on-the-go or in a more relaxed,
lean-back setting. While desktop computer usage tends to peak during the workday
and in the early evening, smartphones see peaks during the rush-hours (when
people are in transit). Tablet consumption is highest during the late evening hours
when people are curled up on the couch or winding down for the night in bed.

Share of Browser-Based
10%
Page Traffic by Hour for
9% Computer, Smartphone
Share of Daily Device Traffic

8% and Tablet Platforms
7% Source: comScore Device
6% Essentials, U.S., Monday,
5%
Jan. 21, 2013
4%
3%
2%
1%
0%
12:00 AM 4:00 AM 8:00 AM 12:00 PM 4:00 PM 8:00 PM

Tablet Smartphone Computer

Importantly, these new occasions mean new opportunities. Media companies
have the ability to monetize additional media channels or reinforce the value
of primary channels, while marketers have the ability to optimize their campaigns
according to day-part to reach consumers when they may be most receptive
to particular messaging.

15

The number of 4G
users has exploded
in the past year
to 33.1 million,
up 273 percent.

MOBILE NETWORK DYNAMICS

VERIZON MAINTAINS LEAD OVER AT&T IN OPERATOR SHARE
Across the total mobile market, the top 4 network operators – Verizon, AT&T,
Sprint and T-Mobile – comprised more than three-quarters of all subscribers.
Verizon maintained its leading position, garnering 31.2 percent of the market,
followed closely by AT&T at 27.3 percent. Sprint (10.3 percent) and T-Mobile (8.4
percent) rounded out the top four. Other network operators combined to account
for more than 20 percent of the market, led by Tracfone, slightly behind T-Mobile at
7.6 percent, Sprint Prepaid (5.4 percent) and MetroPCS (3.2 percent).

Network Operator Share
of Total Mobile Market
3% 2%
2% Source: comScore
3% Verizon MobiLens, U.S., 3 Month
6% AT&T Avg. Ending Dec-2012
31%
Sprint
8%
T-Mobile
Tracfone
8% Sprint Prepaid
MetroPCS
Other
10%
US Cellular
27% Cricket

4G SMARTPHONE USAGE EXPLODES IN 2012
Another important driver of mobile media use apart from smartphone adoption
is the adoption of 3G or 4G-enabled devices. In recent years, mobile carriers
have made it a priority to build out increasingly faster networks while handset
manufacturers prioritized the development of smartphones that could fully take
advantage of these networks. In 2012, Apple made waves with the announcement
that its next iPhone would support LTE – a sign that major industry players saw the
future of mobile in these faster networks.

By the end of 2012, 97.7 percent of U.S. smartphone owners used 3G or
4G enabled devices. While 3G users still represent the wide majority of the
smartphone market, the number of 4G users has exploded in the past year to
33.1 million, up 273 percent from a year ago. Android has led the way with
4G adoption but the introduction of the 4G-enabled iPhone 5 in September 2012
spurred an acceleration in adoption during the final months of the year.

17

4G Adoption Among 35,000
iOS and Android
Smartphone 30,000
Subscribers (000)
Source: comScore

Smartphone Subscribers (000)
25,000
MobiLens, U.S., 3 Month
Avg. Ending Dec-2011 to 20,000
Dec-2012
15,000

10,000

5,000

0
Dec-2011 Feb-2012 Apr-2012 Jun-2012 Aug-2012 Oct-2012 Dec-2012

Android iOS Other

IPHONES CONTINUE TO SHOW GREATEST WI-FI ACTIVITY
An analysis of mobile Internet and Wi-Fi usage across smartphones and tablets
shows that a significant share of browsing activity happens via Wi-Fi. For tablets,
which do not require a wireless data plan to function, 93.6 percent of all time
spent online is via Wi-Fi connection, with both Android tablets and iPads showing
similar percentages. For smartphones, Android phones and iPhones show an
interesting disparity. While two-thirds of online activity on Android phones is
conducted via a mobile connection, more than half of all time spent online on
iPhones happens via Wi-Fi. The higher level of Wi-Fi activity on iPhone could be
attributable to their heavier use as entertainment devices, inducing more video and
music streaming activity, and that network settings default to off-load activity to
accessible Wi-Fi networks.

Mobile and Wi-Fi Smartphone 58% 42%
Connection Activity
Across Smartphones
Source: comScore Device
Android 66% 34%
Essentials, U.S., Dec-
2012 iOS 45% 55%

Mobile Connection Wi-Fi Connection

Mobile and Wi-Fi
Connection Activity Tablet 6% 94%
Across Tablets
Source: comScore Device Android 7% 93%
Essentials, U.S., Dec-
2012 iOS 6% 94%

Mobile Connection Wi-Fi Connection

18

NETWORK AND OS RANK HIGHER THAN COST FOR SMARTPHONE
PURCHASE CONSIDERATION
Purchase consideration factors continue to be very important for the mobile
industry given the high rate of customer churn and new device acquisition. Among
both the total mobile phone and smartphone populations, network quality still
ranks as the most important purchase consideration factor, validating the efforts of
carriers rolling out faster and higher-capability 4G networks.

For smartphone users, operating system ranks as the second-most important
consideration factor. In contrast, the total mobile audience put the overall cost
of monthly service and the cost of the data plan specifically higher on the list.
Interestingly, the selection of apps available only ranked fifth as a consideration
factor for smartphone users this time around, compared to last year when it
ranked third, perhaps suggesting that consumers perceive greater parity in app
ecosystems among the leading operating systems.

8.4 Top Purchase
Network quality of mobile service provider
8.2 Consideration Factors
for Smartphone
8.2
Phone operating system Purchasers vs. Total
7.7
Mobile (1-10 Scale,
8.0 10=Most Important)
Overall cost of the monthly service
8.0 Source: comScore
7.9 MobiLens, U.S., 3 Month
Cost of the data plan specifically
7.8 Avg. Ending Dec-2012
Selection of apps available for my phone 7.8
model 7.3
Price of the phone (after any rebates and other 7.7
incentives) 7.7
7.5
Brand name of the mobile service provider
7.3
7.5
Brand name of the phone
7.1
7.4
Music and video capabilities
6.9
7.0
Social networking features
6.6
6.6
Recommended by family/friend
6.4
5.8
Recommended by retail sales person
5.7

Smartphone Total Mobile

19

The race among
handset manufacturers
heats up as
smartphones
take center stage.

MOBILE OEM DYNAMICS

APPLE AND SAMSUNG COMPETE FOR SUPREMACY
IN MOBILE OEM MARKET
The race among handset manufacturers heated up in 2012 as smartphones
took center stage in the mobile market. Across the total mobile population,
Samsung maintained its position as the lead Original Equipment Manufacturer
(OEM), increasing its share to slightly more than a quarter of all mobile devices
in use in the U.S. Apple rose two spots, overtaking LG and Motorola, to claim
the #2 position accounting for nearly 20 percent of the total mobile market.
Across the smartphone population, however, Apple takes the largest share of
the OEM market, having increased its lead by a significant 6-percentage points
to 36.3 percent, buoyed by the continued popularity and increasing affordability
of the iPhone. Samsung edged out RIM and HTC to claim the #2 spot among
smartphone manufacturers, with the release of the well-received Samsung Galaxy
S III, accounting for 21 percent of all smartphones in use. Noticeably absent from
the OEM leaderboard was BlackBerry, which took the #2 spot the year prior.

TOTAL MOBILE SMARTPHONE
Top OEMs by Share of
Samsung 27.1% Apple 36.3%
Total Mobile Market and
Apple 19.5% Samsung 21.0% Smartphone Market
LG 17.3% HTC 10.2% Source: comScore
Motorola 10.0% Motorola 9.1% MobiLens, U.S., 3 Month
HTC 5.6% LG 7.1% Avg. Ending Dec-2012

A look at the share of OEMs among the Android smartphone market in particular
shows Samsung exhibiting remarkable growth within the market in the previous
year. In December 2011, Samsung accounted for just 1 in 4 Android smartphones
in use. By the end of 2012, that percentage shot up 13 percentage points,
gaining share directly from Motorola and HTC to account for nearly 2 in 5 Android
smartphones. While the market still remains fiercely competitive among OEMs
in the Android ecosystem, Samsung is exhibiting remarkable leadership with the
recent smartphone models it has introduced to the market, such as the Samsung
Galaxy S III. As a result, no other OEM has captured the attention of consumers
and smartphone enthusiasts in the past year as much as Samsung.

21

OEM Share for Android
100%
Smartphones
12% 15%
Source: comScore 90%
Avg. Ending Dec-2012 vs. 80% 14% 13%
Dec-2011 Other
70%
LG
18%
60% 26%
HTC
50% Motorola
17%
40% Samsung
23%
30%

20% 38%
10%
25%

0%
Dec-2011 Dec-2012

APPLE AND AMAZON LEAD AMONG TABLET OEMS
In the household tablet market (excluding tablets for business use), Apple sees an
even greater lead over other device manufacturers, with iPads accounting for 42.9
percent of the tablet market. Amazon followed with the #2 spot as Kindle Fire
tablets comprise nearly a quarter of all tablets in use. Barnes & Noble accounted
for the third-largest share among OEMs with 7.8 percent of all tablets, largely due
to the Barnes & Noble NOOK Tablet. Samsung and Acer rounded out the top five
tablet OEMs, with 5.6 percent and 3.6 percent share of the market, respectively,
due to the popularity of the Samsung Galaxy Tab and the Acer Iconia Tab devices.

OEM Share of the
Tablet Market 1%
Source: comScore 4%
TabLens, U.S., 3 Month 5%
Avg. Ending Dec-2012 Apple
8%
Amazon

43% Other

15% Barnes & Noble

Samsung

Acer

HP

24%

22

APPLE TOPS LIST OF MOST ACQUIRED MOBILE PHONES AND TABLETS
Smartphones dominated the list of top acquired mobile phones in the U.S., led
by various versions of the Apple iPhone, which claimed four of the top five spots,
ousting BlackBerry and HTC devices from the year prior. The Samsung Galaxy
S III proved to be highly popular as well, finding its way into the top five. Apple’s
popularity among consumers making new mobile device purchases likely comes
from a combination of strategic marketing moves. As older models of iPhones
are marked down with the release of newer models, an increasing number of
consumers gain access to them, which accounts for the popularity of a model
such as the Apple iPhone 3GS – originally released in 2009.

TOP ACQUIRED PHONES Top Acquired Individual
Phone Models in the U.S.
Apple iPhone 4S Source: comScore
Apple iPhone 4 MobiLens, U.S., 3 Month
Avg. Ending Jan-2012 to
Apple iPhone 3GS Dec-2012
Apple iPhone 5
Samsung Galaxy S III

A look at the tablet landscape shows Apple ruling this market as well, with iPads
ranking as the top acquired tablet family in the past year, outpacing other tablet
families by a significant margin. As a platform, however, Android also fared well
with each of the next four most acquired tablet families. Amazon put on a good
showing with the Kindle Fire family of tablets ranking #2, followed by the
Acer Iconia and Iconia Tab, Samsung Galaxy Tab and Note, and Barnes & Noble
NOOK tablets.

TOP ACQUIRED TABLET FAMILIES Top Acquired Tablet
Families in the U.S.
Apple iPads Source: comScore
Amazon Kindle 2/Fire/HD TabLens, U.S., Apr-2012
to Dec-2012
Acer Iconia/Iconia Tab
Samsung Galaxy Note/Tab
Barnes & Noble NOOK Color/Tablet/HD

TABLET OWNERS OLDER AND LESS AFFLUENT THAN
SMARTPHONE OWNERS
A demographic comparison of tablet owners and smartphone owners showed that
while both groups had fairly similar gender splits, tablets saw higher percentages
of older and less affluent members of their audience. More than 28 percent of
tablet owners were age 55 and older vs. 20 percent of smartphone owners,
while 25 percent came from households earning at least $100,000 annually vs.
36 percent among smartphone owners. One hypothesis might be that because

23

While Apple leads
among tablet
manufacturers in share,
Android devices also
fared well, with 4 of the
top 5 most acquired
tablet families.

tablets are very intuitive, older generations are starting to use these devices in
place of computers, which can be more complicated to set up and maintain.
In addition, tablets are increasingly providing a less expensive alternative to
computers and can be more affordable than smartphones in the long run, as they
don’t require a data plan for use.

Age Breakdown
of Smartphone and
Tablet 7% 13% 17% 17% 18% 15% 14% Tablet Owners
Source: comScore
TabLens and MobiLens,
Smartphone 7% 12% 22% 21% 18% 12% 8% U.S., 3 Month Avg. Ending
Dec-2012

13-17 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+

Household Income
Breakdown
Tablet 17% 22% 21% 14% 25% of Smartphone and
Tablet Owners
Source: comScore
Smartphone 9% 17% 20% 17% 36% TabLens and MobiLens,
U.S., 3 Month Avg. Ending
Dec-2012

<$25k $25k to <$50k $50k to <$75k $75k to <$100k $100k+

25

Smartphones hit
the mobile majority
in 2012, up 29 percent
from a year ago.

MOBILE PLATFORM DYNAMICS

SMARTPHONE PENETRATION SURPASSES 50 PERCENT IN 2012
2012 was a milestone year for the U.S. smartphone market as it finally surpassed
50 percent market penetration. The more than 125 million smartphone subscribers
represents a 29-percent increase from a year ago, and a 99-percent increase
from two years ago. Not only does the market’s current ownership profile reflect
a smartphone majority, but 72 percent of all newly-acquired devices are now
smartphones.

Mobile Phone Market
Android iOS BlackBerry
Share Trend by Platform
Windows Other Smartphone Non-Smartphone Source: comScore
100%
Avg. Ending Dec-2010 to
90% Dec-2012
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Dec-2010 Mar-2011 Jun-2011 Sep-2011 Dec-2011 Mar-2012 Jun-2012 Sep-2012 Dec-2012

SMARTPHONES ENTER ‘LATE MAJORITY’ IN TECHNOLOGY LIFECYCLE
With smartphone penetration surging past 50 percent during the latter half of 2012,
the market is now entering the “late majority” stage of the technology adoption
curve. The characteristics and motivations of consumers in the late majority are
substantially different than the early majority, and almost the complete opposite of
the innovators and early adopters. These fundamentally different market dynamics

2.5% Innovators
13.5% 34% 34% 16%
Early Adopters Early Majority Late Majority Laggards

27

mean that new marketing strategies are required to capture this segment of the
population representing approximately 80 million U.S. consumers.

Individuals in the late majority tend to be of below average means, may be somewhat
skeptical of technology and are opinion takers rather than opinion makers. These
characteristics will necessarily drive the marketing strategies needed to win over
new adopters during this next phase of the smartphone market. Price sensitivity
dictates that many in this segment will simply not consider premium models and are
willing to sacrifice certain features for more basic functionality. Many may not even
grasp what advanced features mean or why they deliver a superior experience. The
availability of a diverse app ecosystem is likely to be an important driver of utility for
these consumers, which favors Android and iOS.

Another impediment to adoption is that it’s not just the price of the phone but the
additional recurring cost of a data plan. While handset prices are already heavily
subsidized by the operators, the introduction of a new tier of pricing plans to capture
this segment of consumers may be required to spur further device adoption. But
even if an acceptable threshold is met, the average sales price for device models
will need to remain sufficiently low. Recognition of this reality may be one reason that
Apple is heavily rumored to be developing a low-cost iPhone. Without being able
to meet the price expectations of these consumers, a premium device such as the
iPhone would likely begin to lose market share.

ANDROID OWNS MAJORITY SHARE OF U.S. SMARTPHONE USERS
The U.S. smartphone market has seen two platforms, Android and iOS, come to
dominate the market over the past few years and now combine for nearly 90 percent
of the market. Android captured a majority of the market for the first time in February

1%
Smartphone Market
6% 3%
Share by Platform
Source: comScore
Avg. Ending Dec-2012 Android
iOS
53%
36% BlackBerry
Windows
Other Smartphone

2012 and continued to extend its leadership to 53.4 percent by the end of the year.
Apple grew its market share nearly 7 percentage points to 36.3 percent in the past
year. All other platforms experienced share declines.

28

This upcoming year in the smartphone market could be make-or-break for non-iOS
and Android platforms. If they concede much more of their remaining market shares,
it could be very difficult to encourage developers to build for their platforms, putting
them even further behind the market leaders.

LONG TERM VIEW OF SMARTPHONE MARKET REMINDS HOW QUICKLY
FORTUNES CAN CHANGE
But while Android and iOS might appear poised to lock up the smartphone market
for good, it is worth looking at the history of the smartphone market to understand
just how quickly fortunes can change. In 2005, the market was dominated by Palm,
Symbian and BlackBerry. However, by the following year all three had ceded control
to Microsoft as the new market share leader. 2008-2010 saw BlackBerry stage a
comeback to assume the #1 position before eventually giving way to the upstart
Android platform in 2011. The only key player in the current smartphone market
never to have owned the market share lead, interestingly enough, is iOS.

100% Long Term Smartphone
90% Platform Market
80% Share Trend
70%
Source: comScore
MobiLens, U.S., Dec-
60%
2005 to Dec-2012
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Dec-2005 Dec-2006 Dec-2007 Dec-2008 Dec-2009 Dec-2010 Dec-2011 Dec-2012

Android iOS BlackBerry Windows Symbian HP

This view reminds us that the smartphone market has historically been one of
constant disruption, and with most consumers trading out their phones for new
ones every couple of years, there is more opportunity to bring a compelling product
to market and quickly win market share. Conversely, one could also argue that the
emergence of well-developed platform ecosystems creates a higher degree of
customer lock-in that did not exist in the earlier days of the market, suggesting that
iOS and Android may have a better chance of maintaining their stranglehold on the
market for the foreseeable future. But the possibility of emergent platforms (Amazon
and Facebook) and resurgent platforms (Windows and BlackBerry) suggests an
uncertain future where new leaders certainly have the potential to break through.

29

ANDROID’S OEM INTEROPERABILITY HELPS IT ESTABLISH TABLET
MARKET SHARE LEADERSHIP
Although Apple effectively invented the tablet market with its 2010 introduction of
the iPad, several fast-followers delivering more affordable models have helped drive
the tablet market as it’s evolved in the past few years. Android models are now the
most-owned tablets in the U.S. household tablet market – largely buoyed by the
Amazon Kindle Fire – just slightly ahead of the iPad. Other tablet platforms maintain
just a fractional percentage of the market.
Unique Tablets (000) by
70,000
Platform
Source: comScore 60,000
TabLens, U.S., 3 Month
Unique Tablets (000)

Avg. Ending Dec-2012 50,000
BlackBerry
40,000
Windows
30,000
HP
20,000 Android

10,000 iOS

0
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Although Apple has conceded its initial leadership position to Android in the tablet
market, it is fighting to win back market share with its October 2012 introduction
of the 7.9-inch iPad Mini. The smaller and lighter model is proving popular with
consumers who favor portability over screen size. With other tablet makers likely
to follow suit, the market appears pointed towards increased adoption of smaller
tablets. This product differentiation can not only help capture a segment of new
tablet consumers who valued portability, but it also may increase second-tablet
ownership for households that might have different occasions to favor a particular
device type.

PLATFORM LOYALTY EXISTS BETWEEN TABLET AND SMARTPHONE
OWNERSHIP
Although tablets and smartphones are different devices with varying functions,
there is evidence of platform loyalty among consumers. Most mobile consumers
may not resemble the stereotypical Apple “fanboy”, but their propensity to favor
one platform over another is apparent. For example, iPhone users represent 36
percent of the total smartphone market, but a full 60 percent of smartphone users
with an iPad have an iPhone. Similarly, 62 percent of smartphone users with an
Android tablet also use Android phones, considerably higher than that of the total
smartphone market.

30

Percentage of Tablet
10% 7% 9% Users by Platform
20% Who Use Smartphone
Platforms
32% Other Phone
Source: comScore
53% Android Phone MobiLens, U.S., 3 Month
62% Avg. Ending Dec-2012
iPhone
57%

60%
36%
29% 23%

Total iPad Android Other

Platform loyalty is important because it increases the likelihood of a consumer
being wedded to a particular platform over the long term, especially given mobile’s
rapid replacement cycle. With an app ecosystem that transfers seamlessly between
devices, consumers may become accustomed to a consistent interface and media
experience that makes them more likely to stick with the same platform when it’s
time for a device upgrade.

31

Tablet owners show
a higher propensity
to browse and engage
in more involved
media behaviors.

MOBILE MEDIA CONSUMPTION

SMARTPHONES AND TABLETS DRIVE EXPANDED MOBILE MEDIA USAGE
Analysis of the top mobile media behaviors across smartphone and tablet
users shows some interesting similarities and differences for both groups. Both
platforms’ users show an inclination toward engaging in activities that lend
themselves well to being done on-the-go, such as accessing weather, maps and
news updates.

Among smartphone users, sending text messages was still the foremost activity
in which users engaged (90.5 percent). Taking photos was the second-ranked
activity for smartphone users (83.4 percent), followed by checking e-mail
(77.8 percent) and accessing weather updates (67.1 percent). Accessing
social networks or blogs also ranked among the top mobile media activities for
smartphone users (65.3 percent), as apps have made it easier than ever for
smartphone users to engage with social networks at any given minute.

TOP ACTIVITIES TOP ACTIVITIES Top Mobile Media
FOR SMARTPHONE AUDIENCE FOR TABLET AUDIENCE Activities by Share
Sent text message to 90.5% Accessed search 73.9% of Smartphone and
another phone Tablet Users
Source: comScore
Took photos 83.4% Used email 73.6% MobiLens and TabLens,
Used email 77.8% Accessed social 67.5% U.S., 3 Month Avg. Ending
networking Dec-2012
Accessed weather 67.1% Played games 66.3%
Accessed social 65.3% Accessed weather 64.6%
networking
Accessed search 58.7% Accessed news 58.8%
Played games 52.9% Accessed photo/video 51.5%
sharing site
Accessed maps 51.2% Read books 51.2%
Accessed news 49.2% Watched video 50.9%
Listened to music on 48.0% Accessed retail 49.8%
mobile phone

For tablet owners, there is a higher propensity to browse and engage in more
involved media behaviors. While the most popular activity for tablet owners was
accessing search results (73.9 percent), a significant percentage also played
games (66.3 percent), accessed photo/video sharing sites (51.5 percent), read
books (51.2 percent) and watched video (50.9 percent). As tablets have come

33

to provide a convenient platform for users to read longer-form content, we have
seen this platform disrupt the way tech-savvy consumers are consuming news and
information. In addition to books, 37.8 percent of tablet owners read magazines on
their devices, underscoring the importance of this platform to magazine publishers
as consumers continue to shift away from print.

TABLETS DRIVE SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT
Social networking activity continued to be very popular on mobile devices, with
approximately 2 out of every 3 smartphone and tablet owners accessing these
67%
sites65% their devices. The most popular social media activity among both groups
from
was reading posts or status updates from people known personally. Half of the
61%
smartphone audience reported reading status updates from friends, and 3 in 10
53%
smartphone owners reported doing so on a daily basis. For tablet owners, the
51%
49%
47%
percentage is even higher for many social networking activities, as tablets lend
46%
44%
themselves particularly well to leisurely browsing for prolonged periods of time.
41%
39%
37% 37%
34% 35% 34%
In addition to using their devices for keeping up to date on friends’ activities,
smartphone and tablet owners are engaging with brands on social networks. 2 in 27% 26%
5 smartphone subscribers read posts from brands and organizations, while nearly
half of the tablet audience reported doing so as well. A slightly lower percentage
of smartphone (34.5 percent) and tablet (41.3 percent) owners read posts by
celebrities and public figures. Finally, 1 in 4 smartphone owners reported receiving
a coupon, offer or deal via mobile social networking. A greater percentage of
67% tablet owners (34 percent) reported the same thing.
65% Accessed 'Read posts !Accessed Posted status VRead posts 3Followed a -Read posts Posted a link !Received a
social from people photo/video update or status link to a from public to a website coupon, offer,
Selected Social 61%
networking known sharing site updates from website figures or or deal
Networking Activities personally organizations, posted by
companies, someone else
celebrities

Among Smartphone and 53% brands,
Tablet Owners 51% events or Smartphone
49% products
Tablet
Source: comScore 47% 46%
44%
MobiLens and TabLens, 41%
U.S., 3 Month Avg. Ending 39%
37% 37%
Dec-2012 34% 35% 34%

27% 26%

Accessed 'Read posts !Accessed Posted status VRead posts 3Followed a -Read posts Posted a link !Received a
social from people Accessed
Read photo/video Posted
update Read posts
or status Followed
link to a Readpublic to a website coupon, offer,
from posts Posted Received
networking posts from
known photo/
sharing site status updates from a link to
or status website from public
figures or a link aor deal
coupon,
people
personally video update updates from a website
organizations, posted by figures or
celebrities to a offer, or
known sharing organizations, someone by
companies, posted else celebrities website deal
personally site brands,
companies, someone
events or
brands, else
Smartphone
products
events or Tablet
products

34

SMARTPHONES DRIVING SHOWROOMING, TABLETS DRIVING PURCHASE
The past few years have seen the rise of a practice known as “showrooming,”
which means visiting a retail store to check out a product in person but then
completing the actual purchase online. In Q4 2012, 36 percent of consumers
indicated they had engaged in showrooming and 74 percent of those individuals
said that price was an important driver of that activity. Interestingly, smartphones
have emerged as a significant enabler of showrooming activity because people
are armed with access to competitive pricing information and product reviews
while in a brick-and-mortar store. In fact, 46 percent of smartphone owners have
showroomed as compared to just 27 percent of non-smartphone owners.

While smartphones are becoming disruptive to the traditional retail environment,
tablets are changing shopping behaviors in somewhat different ways. Because
their functionality more closely resembles that of computers, tablets are not
influencing the in-store shopping experience as much as they are driving in-
home shopping behavior. In fact, tablet users were significantly more likely than
smartphone owners to engage in various shopping behaviors, such as researching
product features and comparing prices. Perhaps most importantly, tablet users
were twice as likely to purchase items on their devices (38 percent) than
smartphone owners (19 percent).

% Share of Smartphone
and Tablet Owners
39%
% Researched product features Performing Mobile
51% 23%
49% Retail Activities
47% 46% Source: comScore
44% 39%
51% Compared product prices
49% 41% 24% MobiLens and TabLens,
39% 47% 37% 46%
37% 44% U.S., 3 Month Avg. Ending
34% 35% 34% 38%
Purchased goods or services online 41%
Dec-2012
39% 19%
37% 37% 27%
34% 35% 26%34%
38%
Found store location
27% 26% 34%

33%
Found coupons or deals
22%

30%
Checked product availability
ts !Accessed Posted status VRead posts 3Followed a -Read posts Posted a link !Received a
19%
le photo/video update or status link to a from public to a website coupon, offer,
sharing site updates from website figures or or deal 21%
y Made shopping lists
ts !Accessed Posted statusorganizations, 3Followed a -Read posts
VRead posts posted by celebrities Posted a link !Received a 21%
le photo/video update companies, someone a
or status link to else from public to a website coupon, offer,
sharing site brands,
updates from website figures or or deal
y events or
organizations, posted by celebrities
Smartphone
products someone else
companies, Tablet
brands,
events or Smartphone
products
Tablet

35

FACEBOOK #1 AMONG MOBILE APPS, WHILE GOOGLE
OWNS HALF OF TOP 10
Consumers who engage with mobile media may do so via the mobile web or
apps. And in this environment – unlike with the traditional fixed web – the majority
of consumption is driven by apps, which are optimized for the smaller-screen
environment. 4 out of every 5 mobile media minutes occur via apps, while mobile
web usage drives the remainder.

Among smartphone apps on the iOS and Android platforms, Facebook finished
2012 strong to capture the #1 position, reaching 3 out of every 4 smartphone
users in December 2012. Facebook grabbed the lead from Google Maps, which
conceded the top spot following Apple’s decision to replace it with Apple Maps
on iOS 6. Despite losing the #1 position, Google still featured prominently among
the leading apps with each of the next 5 spots. Google Maps ranked 2nd with
a reach of 65.9 percent in the smartphone market, followed by Google Play
(54.3 percent), Google Search (53.5 percent), Gmail (47.6 percent) and YouTube
(46.4 percent).

Top Mobile Apps by
Facebook 76%
Reach of Smartphone
Audience (Age 18+) Google Maps 66%
Source: comScore Mobile Google Play 54%
Metrix, U.S., Dec-2012
Google Search 54%

Gmail 48%

YouTube 46%

Pandora Radio 42%

Apple iTunes 41%

Cooliris 38%

Yahoo! Messenger 32%

A breakdown of the top mobile apps specifically for iOS and Android users yields
some noticeable differences between the platforms. For iPhone owners, the Apple
iTunes app proved to be the #1 app on the list, barely edging out Facebook,
while Yahoo! Stocks, Google Maps and Yahoo! Weather rounded out the top
five. Meanwhile, Google apps dominated the list of top apps for Android users,
with Google Play ranking first, followed by Google Search, Gmail, Facebook
and Google Maps. For iPhone users, a number of the top apps on this list are
entertainment-focused, such as Pandora Radio, YouTube and Instagram.

36

TOP IOS MOBILE APPS TOP ANDROID MOBILE APPS
Top Mobile Apps for
iOS and Android Active
Apple iTunes Google Play Users (Age 18+)
Facebook Google Search Source: comScore Mobile
Metrix, U.S., Dec-2012
Yahoo! Stocks Gmail
Google Maps Facebook
Yahoo! Weather Google Maps
Pandora Radio Cooliris
Apple Maps Yahoo! Messenger
YouTube Voice Search
The Weather Channel YouTube
Instagram Google News and Weather

MOBILE MEDIA USE CONTRIBUTES TO GROWING PERCENTAGE
OF TIME SPENT ONLINE
The rapid growth in mobile media usage has resulted in a greater share of time
spent online now happening on mobile devices. comScore Media Metrix Multi-
Platform (Beta) indicates that one-third of digital media consumption time happens
via smartphones and tablets. However, these time splits by platform can vary
considerably by content category. Categories that lend themselves well to mobile
use – such as Maps and Weather – will naturally see a higher percentage of time
spent online coming from those platforms. Other categories such as Portals, which
represent the traditional entry-point for experiencing much of the fixed web, still
see a higher percentage of activity being driven by PC access.

Total Internet 63% 37% Share of Total Time
Spent Online for
Maps 16% 84% Selected Properties
Weather 40% 60% Source: comScore Media
Music 43% 57% (Beta), U.S., Dec-2012
Social Networking 45% 55%
Sports 56% 44%
Retail 62% 38%
Newspapers 62% 38%
Online Gaming 66% 34%
e-mail 69% 31%
Portals 74% 26%

PC Mobile

37

Smartphone adoption
hit the mobile
majority in EU5
and Canada.

MOBILE INSIGHTS AROUND
THE WORLD

SMARTPHONE ADOPTION REACHES MOBILE MAJORITY
ACROSS EU5 AND CANADA
Smartphone adoption rose rapidly in the past year to assume the mobile majority
in 2012 in many international markets, including the EU5 (UK, France, Germany,
Spain and Italy) and Canada. Among these markets, Spain had the highest
smartphone adoption at 66 percent, followed by the UK (64 percent) and Canada
(62 percent). Canada saw significant gains at the end of the year after first
reaching 50 percent penetration in Q2 2012. France, Germany and Italy each saw
their subscriber bases surpass this mark in the second half of the year and ended
the year with at least 51 percent smartphone penetration.

Spain 66% Smartphone Adoption
Across Markets
UK 64% Source: comScore
MobiLens, 3 Month
Canada 62% Avg. Dec-2012

France 53%

Italy 53%

Germany 51%

Japan 30%

ANDROID LEADS SMARTPHONE MARKET SHARE ACROSS COUNTRIES
Android owned the smartphone market share lead in each of the EU5 countries,
Canada and Japan. Android had greater than 50 percent market share in Japan,
Spain and Germany, and even eclipsed 60 percent in both Japan and Spain. iOS
ranked second in 5 out of the 7 markets, while Symbian captured the #2 spots in
Spain and Italy. In general, Android, iOS and Windows saw gains in these markets
over the past year, while BlackBerry and Symbian saw declines.

39

100% Smartphone Platform
90%
Market Share
Source: comScore
80% MobiLens, 3 Month Avg.
70% Ending Dec-2012
60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Japan Spain Germany France UK Canada Italy

Android iOS Windows Symbian BlackBerry HP Other Smartphone

Some of these markets outside the U.S. have a heritage with other platforms that
may enable their revival. As home to BlackBerry, Canada has a rooting interest
in seeing that platform succeed. Nokia’s rich history as one of Europe’s leading
companies gives it the potential to reawaken its prospects in the European
markets, particularly in Spain and Italy. But regaining traction will depend on
improved product and marketing strategies, which may be easier said than done in
a competitive market led by the well-entrenched Android and iOS platforms.

41

CONCLUSION
2013: PUTTING THE MOBILE FUTURE
INTO FOCUS

ARE THE PLATFORM WARS ENDING OR JUST BEGINNING?
With Android and iOS now representing the overwhelming majority of smartphone
and tablet users, the market in some ways appears headed towards a two-party
system for the foreseeable future. At the same time, BlackBerry and Windows are
once again making a renewed push that suggests it is too early to count either
one of them out of the smartphone market. At the same time, the possibility of new
entrants such as Amazon and Facebook could reignite the platform wars, and history
suggests that leadership positions can change instantly and new players can quickly
carve out market share with a compelling offering.

MULTI-PLATFORM PARADIGM WILL DRIVE AD AND CONTENT
INTEGRATION STRATEGIES
With the platform shift in full swing, businesses will be challenged in the coming year
to stay ahead of consumers’ usage curve and deliver them with the content they
want, when and where they want it. It will also be imperative to maintain revenue
streams in the core digital channels while capturing market share and monetizing
emerging channels. Doing so will require businesses to get even smarter in how they
scale their content to other platforms by developing integration strategies that deliver
unique offerings to advertisers. Greater integration between delivery of content and
the ability to deliver campaigns in a multi-platform fashion remains a challenge, but
the companies who facilitate this form of platform agnostic strategy will enhance
value to marketers, simplify campaign management for agencies and foster greater
pricing equilibrium between their content channels. Some media companies are
completely re-configuring the design of their websites to optimize them across any
platform. Others are developing “native ad” units, such as Facebook’s Sponsored
Story or Twitter’s Promoted Tweet, which seamlessly integrate into the content
stream on any device. Strategies like these that break down the barriers between
platforms not only improve the consistency of user experience, but also facilitate the
flow of ad dollars.

MOBILE ADVERTISING WILL EVOLVE AS A BRANDING MEDIUM
TO ATTRACT MAJOR AD DOLLARS

The coming year will be a critical one for the mobile advertising industry as it
looks to bring its share of ad dollars into greater alignment with its share of media
consumption time. With people now spending so much time on their phones and
tablets, there is a growing need to prove the value of the medium – especially as
that time begins to eat into existing content channels like TV and Online. Failure to

43

prove advertising value could mean cannibalization of existing content monetization
streams, raising the stake for many publishers and media companies. At the same
time, the use of outdated ad metrics such as click-through rates is impeding
the development of the medium, as advertisers place little faith in figures clearly
inflated by the “fat finger syndrome” on touch-screens. Proving value in 2013 will
shift to evaluating campaigns on the basis of reaching target audiences, and the
development of innovative research methods to demonstrate the branding value
of these campaigns, particularly within the context of a brand’s TV and online
campaigns. Finally, another critical component to mobile advertising’s evolution will
be providing consumers with clear choices for data privacy. Clear and transparent
standards for data privacy must be adopted by the industry as it seeks to grow.

THE LINES BETWEEN DEVICE TYPES WILL CONTINUE TO BLUR
The definitions of what constitutes a smartphone, tablet or other connected device
will continue to blur in the coming year with so many new devices featuring their own
unique dimensions and technological specifications. Is it an e-reader or a tablet?
A smartphone or a “phablet?” These questions will become more commonplace
in the year ahead as each device maker adapts its offerings to meet one of the
many micro-segments of consumers with a specific set of need drivers. Screen
size, functionality, portability, keyboard style, content ecosystem, processing power,
connection speeds and many other variables have varying importance to consumers,
which means that OEMs will continue to innovate and experiment with their offering
to find consumer sweet spots.

MOBILE COMMERCE WILL ACCELERATE CHANNEL CANNIBALIZATION
Mobile will accelerate its cannibalization of both e-commerce and traditional
brick-and-mortar retail over the coming year, driven by the increase in consumers
shopping, comparing prices and transacting over their smartphones and tablets.
With m-commerce currently accounting for 1 in 10 e-commerce dollars, and
e-commerce dollars accounting for 1 in 10 retail dollars, m-commerce still
represents only 1 percent of total retail spending. But the introduction of the mobile
device into the existing retail marketplace has the potential to be far more disruptive
because it is influencing and shaping the path to purchase in so many new ways.
And even modest share shifts from one channel to another can be significant in
a low-margin industry such as retail, so even a modest acceleration in the current
trends could prove exponentially more disruptive. Retailers will be challenged
to sharpen their mobile strategies, invest in additional platforms and defend
against “showrooming” in order to preserve their existing business. While it is an
uncomfortable position for many retailers, this approach may be necessary for long-
term survival against the digital commerce tidal wave.

4G CONNECTIVITY TO PAVE WAY FOR ADVANCED COMMUNICATION
AND CONTENT CONSUMPTION
With leading smartphones on the market boasting 4G networks, consumers will
increasingly be enabled with a faster and more robust experience for mobile media
consumption. Faster speeds will not only give consumers more incentive to rely on
their phones for monetizable activities like searching and news consumption, but it

44

will also facilitate the use of streaming video on services like Netflix and HBO GO.
In addition, high-bandwidth activities such as video chat may begin to gain popularity
among consumers as data speeds allow. Mobile operators may be challenged to
provide sufficient bandwidth for its subscribers as these behaviors expand, and they
will need to balance consumers’ increasing demand for data speed with the costs
associated.

GLOBAL SMARTPHONE GROWTH WILL DRIVE MOBILE MARKET
EXPANSION
While the U.S. market still has plenty of room for growth, the business prospects for
operators and OEMs in international markets are expansive. Expect to see many key
players set their sights on opportunities abroad to take advantage of the burgeoning
middle class in developing countries. China will be a specific area of focus in the
coming year, as will other parts of Asia and Latin America. While developing markets
may not boast the profit potential of the U.S., they represent hundreds of millions if
not billions of subscribers that can drive huge revenue and play an important role in
global market share dynamics.

45

METHODOLOGY AND DEFINITIONS

This report utilizes data from the comScore suite
of products, including comScore MobiLens, comScore
TabLens, comScore Device Essentials and comScore
Mobile Metrix. The report also includes data from
comScore Media Metrix Multi-Platform (Beta).

• comScore MobiLens®
comScore MobiLens provides market-wide insight into mobile digital media
consumption, brand-level audience metrics and details of device ownership and
technology penetration. Using proprietary data collection methods, we survey
nationally representative samples of mobile subscribers age13+ in the U.S.,
UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Canada and Japan. The MobiLens sample
is substantial enough to provide projected data for sub-segments as small as
1 percent of mobile subscribers. The MobiLens’ sampling and survey methods
undergo extensive analysis and market validation including comparisons to known
network operator market shares, leading handset model shares, downloading activity
and other usage metrics.

For more information, please visit:
www.comscore.com/Products/Audience_Analytics/MobiLens

• comScore TabLens®
comScore TabLens is a monthly syndicated service providing insights into U.S.
tablet ownership and usage. Based on a 3-month rolling sample of 6,000 U.S. tablet
owners, TabLens provides insight into tablet audiences, including demographics,
content consumption habits and device ownership, to provide the industry with the
most up-to-date look at this expanding tablet market.

www.comscore.com/Products/Audience_Analytics/TabLens

• comScore Device Essentials™
comScore Device Essentials provides insight into digital traffic share across all
devices worldwide, offering detail into device characteristics, connection type
and category consumption. The product is based on the comScore Unified Digital
Measurement (UDM) approach, measuring browser-based page views coming from
computers, mobile and other connected devices to more than one million domains
tagging with comScore. Device Essentials also utilizes the comScore Client Focus
Dictionary to segment connected device usage into content categories.

www.comscore.com/Products/Audience_Analytics/Device_Essentials

47

• comScore Mobile Metrix®
Mobile Metrix provides direct and continuous monitoring of actual U.S. consumer
behavior on smartphones across the Android, iOS and RIM platforms for mobile
users age 18 and older. Utilizing comScore’s Unified Digital Measurement approach,
Mobile Metrix combines panel and census measurement to provide a comprehensive
picture of mobile activity across browser and application usage including metrics
such as unique visitors, reach, frequency and duration as well as demographic
insights in order to best understand today’s smartphone audience.

www.comscore.com/Products/Audience_Analytics/Mobile_Metrix

• comScore Media Metrix® Multi-Platform (Beta)
The comScore Media Metrix suite of syndicated products sets the standard for
digital audience measurement and media planning. Included in this suite, comScore
Media Metrix Multi-Platform (Beta) offers comprehensive reporting on more
than 300,000 digital media entities, including their un-duplicated audience size,
demographic composition, engagement, performance within key user segments and
behavioral trends.

www.comscore.com/Products/Audience_Analytics/Media_Metrix_Multi-Platform

49

ABOUT COMSCORE, INC.

comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in
digital measurement and analytics, delivering insights on
web, mobile and TV consumer behavior that enable clients
to maximize the value of their digital investments.
A preferred source of digital audience measurement, comScore offers a variety
of on-demand software and custom services within its four analytics pillars:
Audience Analytics, Advertising Analytics, Digital Business Analytics and Mobile
Operator Analytics. By leveraging a world-class technology infrastructure, the
comScore Census Network™ (CCN) captures trillions of digital interactions
a month to power big data analytics on a global scale for its more than 2,000
clients, which include leading companies such as AOL, Baidu, BBC, Best Buy,
Carat, Deutsche Bank, ESPN, France Telecom, Financial Times, Fox, LinkedIn,
Microsoft, MediaCorp, Nestle, Starcom, Terra Networks, Universal McCann,
Verizon, ViaMichelin and Yahoo!.

STAY CONNECTED

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51

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