With the introduction of Apple's iPhone 4 and HTC's Evo, smartphone
penetration hit an all-time high in 2010, with 60 million Americans
owning the devices. This number is expected to continue to grow, with
eMarketer predicting it will cross the 100 million mark by 2014.
While smartphone users are still the minority of the more than 200 million cellphone users, they account for the majority of marketing companies' attention. This is because advertisers can extend their traditional digital marketing initiatives to smartphone devices, regardless of whether consumers prefer videos, social networks, search engines or email
"The next generation of smartphones promises to take this disparity to even
greater heights, in the process spurring increased competition between
Apple's proprietary iOS platform and the open Android operating system
championed by Google," explains eMarketer analyst Noah Elkin. "The
addition of tablets into the smart device mix constitutes a vital second
front in the larger Apple-Google battle for mobile supremacy."
The battle for smartphone market share between Google and Apple may
have significant ramifications on mobile marketing campaigns. Recent
reports from Nielsen indicates that Android users interact with more ads
than other smartphone users.
Source: ricg.com
Date: 10/02/2010