Report: smartphone owners willing to pay for apps

By Fahmida Y. Rashid September 14, 2010

In a slight departure from conventional wisdom (and backed up by countless surveys and studies) that people don’t want to pay for content on the Web, a new research report from Nielsen claims mobile phone owners are willing to pay for apps.

Nielsen announced these findings in a “State of Mobile Apps” report at San Francisco’s AppNation conference. In a survey of 4,000 mobile phone subscribers in August, 59 percent of smartphone users and 9 percent of regular “feature” phones users reported downloading an app within the previous 30 days. Of those surveyed, a significant majority, or 91 percent, say they would pay for a game app, and 86 percent would pay for an entertainment app.

Other app categories showed similar preference, with 84 percent for navigation, 82 percent for productivity, and 76 percent for news apps.

Ironically, it was only March when a Pew report revealed online users would rather get ads than pay for news content.

iPhone owners typically paid for one app for every two free apps downloaded, and 43 percent said they upgraded from a lite or trial version of an app to a full version. This may be due to Apple’s gung-ho approach promoting the App Store. Android and BlackBerry owners downloaded only one paid app for every three and a half free apps. BlackBerry owners were also the least likely to convert from a free version to the full.

Nielsen predicts the majority of mobile subscribers in the US will have smartphones by the end of 2011. Currently, the number is closer to 25 percent.

AppNation organizers believe there will be a million apps available by 2012. There’s quite a way to go, since Apple’s App Store and Google’s Android Marketplace currently have 340,000 apps combined.

The report is so tightly focused on mobile applications that the findings can’t be extrapolated to user preferences for the Web in general. Nielsen did not address pricing when looking at the liklihood of upgrading or buying apps, and we know finding that perfect pricepoint is not easy.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Fahmida Y. Rashid

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Mobile

I record interviews for work. These are my favorite free recorder apps

The iPhone 14 Pro and Google Pixel 7 Pro's voice recording apps running together.

The Voice Recorder app on a phone (left) and the Voice Memos on another phone Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Before you head to the app store on your phone to buy a voice-recording app, take a moment to consider the apps that may already be installed on your phone. Why? In my experience, they're likely all you really need. I’ve recorded interviews and voice-overs for work for years, and I’ve found the two best examples come preinstalled on your phone already, so they’re entirely free to use.

Mobile

The best Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 cases: 10 best ones so far

Two Galaxy Z Fold 5 phones next to each other -- one is open and one is closed.

Samsung’s next-generation foldable is here with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5. This iteration has some notable improvements, including a new hinge design that eliminates the gap from previous generations when the device was folded. You also get a 6.2-inch HD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display on the outside while having a 6.7-inch QXGA+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display on the inside, with both screens having a 120Hz refresh rate. In other words, they're about as nice as you could ask for.

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 is made with premium materials, and the triple-lens camera system packs in a 50MP main shooter, 10MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom, and a 12MP ultrawide lens. There’s a 10MP selfie camera on the front cover, and a 4MP camera on the inner display. You also get a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chip inside for the best performance and power efficiency.

Mobile

Google Pixel Tablet just got its first big discount and it’s worth a look

Google Pixel Tablet on its charging dock.

Tablets are a dime-a-dozen these days, with offerings from all the great brands including Apple, Samsung, Lenovo, and more. So, if you really want to stand out in a sea of similar tech, you need to do things a little differently. That's what Google's Pixel Tablet offers. How? It comes with a unique speaker dock that can be used to both charge the device and offer room-filling sound -- almost like a smart speaker add-on. Better yet, when your Pixel Tablet is docked it benefits from the Hub Mode, turning the device into a smart display, with digital photo frame support, smart home controls, and hands-free Google functionality. Of course, it could set you back at full price, normally $499 unless you find it included in a roundup of the best Google Pixel deals. Well, guess what? Thanks to a Best Buy Google Pixel Tablet deal, you can get it today for $439 and save $60. Hurry, though, it's part of Best Buy's recent 48-hour sale so it won't stick around for long.

Why you should buy the Google Pixel Tablet
Okay, okay, so in our Google Pixel Tablet review, Joe Maring did give it less than stellar remarks, but he called out its reliable fingerprint sensor, comfortability during use and excellent speaker dock. Honestly, how many tablets come with a matching speaker dock that transforms the entire experience? This tablet also marks a "lot of firsts" for Google, as it's the first tablet from the company in nearly five years, the first Android tablet in eight years, and can be converted into a smart home display with the speaker dock. All of which are notable milestones.