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A new Nielsen survey shows that Apple in on top when it comes to mobile applications.
Despite the fanfare around application stores tied to specific mobile devices such as iPhones and BlackBerries, a new Nielsen survey has identified ongoing loyalty to carrier stores.
The findings come from Nielsen’s latest App Playbook report which surveys more than 4,000 US application downloaders on their mobile application usage. As at the end of 2009, half of all applications users were accessing carrier app stores.
The Apple App Store was the clear leader in preferred application stores, while the relatively new BlackBerry App World Store was the second most popular app store due to BlackBerry’s industry-leading installed base.
Not surprisingly, smartphone users were generally using applications more than feature phone users – only 12 percent of feature phone owners have downloaded an app in the past 30 days compared to 46 percent of smartphone owners, with application usage driven mostly by the iPhone and Android devices.
The Apple App Store and the Android Market Place have a sizable lead in terms of satisfaction compared to the other application stores, and while the often-overlooked carrier application stores are significantly behind the two leaders in terms of satisfaction, they are marginally ahead of the BlackBerry App World and Windows Marketplace.
