BII MOBILE INSIGHTS: What "Personal Computing" Really Means

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How Content Is Being Consumed On Mobile Devices (BI Intelligence)
The growth of smartphones and tablets has boosted content consumption dramatically. Importantly, mobile media consumption appears to be an additive activity — consumers access more media than they otherwise would. Here's a breakdown of how mobile is impacting content consumption:

Tablets have fueled the continued rise of eBooks
One of the primary attractions of smartphones is their dual capacity as MP3 players
News consumption is growing enormously
Mobile has helped drive an enormous amount of video consumption

The full report is loaded with charts and data that can be easily accessed, downloaded and put to use.

What "Personal Computing" Really Means (Kontera via Business Insider)
Ad company Kontera tracked data from 15,000 publishers to find out when people are using their PC versus iPhones, Android phones, and tablets, which are lumped as "mobile" in the chart below. It shows for each hour of the day what percentage of total mobile and PC content is consumed. As you can see, mobile usage is strongest from 6pm to midnight. PC usage is strongest from 11am to 5pm. Basically people are using PCs at work, and mobile gadgets at home. Sort of a duh, right? Maybe, but it suggests a big shift in what "personal computing" really means. If we're doing mobile computing largely during our personal time, which is when we're out of work, it means people are more likely to buy tablets than traditional PCs in the future.

chart of the day, mobile and pc content consumption, september 2012

Predictions For The Future Of Mobile Apps (Appcelerator via Inc.)
In a recent survey by Appcelerator, more than 5,500 software developers were asked to look into their crystal balls. Here's what they saw:

A mobile start-up could take down Facebook
Apps for more than phones and tablets
Developers don't like HTML5 mobile apps
Love for Android continues to slide

The survey yielded other interesting findings, such as the fact that developers' interest in building apps for RIM's BlackBerry platform is at an all-time low as well as their view that Windows 8 is promising because it makes programming for both the desktop and tablet easy. Even so, they say unless hordes of people start buying devices with it installed, the beauty of Windows 8 doesn't matter a bit.

Tips For Marketers Ready To Invest More In Mobile (Search Engine Watch)
Here are three tips for mobile marketers ready to allocate more to their mobile budgets and fully leverage the mobile opportunity:

Know your mobile consumer
Contact information reigns supreme
Understand smartphone vs. tablet nuances

Mobile monetization opportunities are high and should be commanding a much higher rate of ad budgets.

Mobile Shopping Bringing In $20 billion Annually (Javelin Strategy and Research via CNet)
Shopping on mobile devices has become a $20 billion business, according to Javelin Strategy and Research. The report, based on three online surveys of mobile phone owners and a survey of mobile device owners, found that consumers spent more than $20.7 billion over the past year while shopping on mobile devices, with $5 billion of that spent through tablets. They predict the popularity of shopping on tablets will double within the next three years. Based on the surveys, consumers spent an average of $10 more per purchase using a tablet versus a smartphone device.

Are You Addicted To Your Smartphone? (Mashable)
I am too, it's ok. Smartphones are awesome. But how awesome is too awesome? And when does appreciation become addiction? Consider this: 15% of respondents to a recent Gazelle.com survey said they’d go rather go without sex for a weekend than give up their iPhone for a few days. 4% said they’ve actually used their iPhone during sex, and 65% said they couldn’t live without their trusty device. 40% of respondents said they’d rather go without bathing than without their iPhone. I say we have a problem. Check out this infographic for more.

smartphone usage stats