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Smartphone Use Climbs at Home: Net, Games, Music and Movies

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Where do you use your smartphone the most? If you’re anything like the rest of us smartphone addicts, your time is almost split in half between use at home and elsewhere.

A new survey by Millennial Media found that about 40% of the time spent by an average smartphone user is at home.

The usage survey looked at how and where consumers use their smartphones, and not surprisingly consumers are using their smartphones at home for an array of activities.

SmartphoneUsageTrends

Smartphones aren't just used on the go.

Smartphone Use at Home

As you can see in the chart above, consumers are increasingly using their smartphones at home in the following categories;

  • Use the Internet
  • Use Mobile Apps
  • Play Mobile Games
  • Listen to Music
  • Watch Videos

The prevalence of these activities in the home are of no surprise to me. When you think about a smartphone, it’s almost always in your pocket. When you see something on TV or need to look something up, why would you go to your computer when you have one in your pocket. This mirrors my usage at home.

When it comes to mobile apps, I’m not surprised the usage is lower, but then again there are people who check into their own home on foursquare, so it’s never going to be zero.

Mobile games are a big par tof my at home use. While I have an Xbox 360 hooked up to a HDTV, I often only have 15 minutes to game, which is perfect for a short session of apps. Half of the Xbox games I own couldn’t even get to the main menu in this amount of time thanks to copious loading and boot animations.

The smartphone is the MP3 player of many users. My wife constantly runs her smartphone dead listening to Pandora while at home. If I’m not listening to Pandora or Audible on my ThunderBolt, I am likely using it to control the Sonos Play 3 speakers I have in for review.

Video usage is another big one. When I want to watch The Daily Show or some other show late at night, I would rather watch TV on my iPad with headphones on, than to listen quietly so I don’t disturb my wife in bed.

Why Android Needs to Take Note

Google needs to pay particular attention to the in home use of smartphones, especially when it comes to movies. The company has brought movies to the Android Market, but Hulu and Netflix are still missing from a collection of Android devices. Consumers want to be able to go and purchase a smartphone that works with these services without the need to do research and wait for updates.

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1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Cory Grassell

    08/17/2011 at 2:23 pm

    Not really that surprising, as we live in a multi-tasking, always-connected world. When I’m watching TV or using my laptop, my phone is always nearby. For TV, that means I can tap into the latest app that is featured on my favorite show. When browsing on my laptop, my phone gives me another dimension of connectivity (i.e., apps) that I can’t get on my standard PC. Brands should take note of this, as mobile isn’t just for on-the-go consumers. In other words, a mobile presence is vital.

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