Smartphone users want entertainment over work-related applications, and they also want some bells and whistles, too.
Just two years ago, business and professional content held court in content download statistics, in first place with 18 percent of purchases. Entertainment was in third place.
Now entertainment holds 17 percent while business applications dropped to 16 percent, according to the annual Handango Yardstick trend report that tracks smartphone application purchases.
The reason, said Handango CEO Bill Stone, is tied to user adoption. It’s not just “techies” using smartphones anymore.
“We’re seeing a mass adoption and it’s not the early adopters. Today the majority user segment are the soccer moms and those wanting smartphone features they have on their PCs,” Stone told InternetNews.com.
The entertainment category includes puzzles and streaming television programming. Business and professional content includes applications such as email. Productivity programs (think calendars and address books) placed third, while games took fourth place in the 2007 results.
When it comes to popular devices, Research in Motion’s BlackBerry Pearl still reins. It was the most popular device for mobile content in 2007, both in revenue and units sold, according to the report. The results are in sync with a recent study from ChangeWave Research that RIM still rules the enterprise when it comes to smartphone purchases.
Yet despite the fact that business and professional applications ranked highest in overall sales with the BlackBerry, the top 10 applications included games, such as Sudoku and poker; communications software, such as ringtones and instant messenger; and travel applications.
Here’s the list of the top 10 selling applications for BlackBerry users, also known as Crackberry addicts:
- Ringtone Megaplex (ringtone library)
- Sudoku (puzzle game)
- Colour Your Trackball (trackball customizer)
- IM+ (instant messenger)
- Ascendo DataVault (password manager)
- WorldMate Live Gold Membership (travel assistant)
- Aces Texas Hold’Em – No Limit (poker game)
- IM+ for Skype (instant messenger)
- SplashID for BlackBerry (information security)
- Crackberry Ringtones Deluxe (ringtone library)
Windows Mobile Standard users focused on play in 2007, as entertainment topped the sales chart at 36 percent, and streaming media applications appeared in the top 10 best-sellers list. Business and professional applications landed in distant second place at 12 percent.
Although Palm released few devices in 2007, this operating system continued to see loyal demand for content throughout the year, according to Handango. Best selling applications were primarily business and productivity, including Outlook synchronization and a personal information manager, though a ringtone player fell into the mix of top 10.
Symbian platform device users focused on productivity and utilities applications, such as a time manager, weather monitor and travel assistant.
