comScore, Inc. has published the results of a study that explores the demographics of iPhone owners and reveals that while 43 percent of iPhone owners earn in excess of $100,000 annually, the strongest growth in users is coming from those earning less than the median household income, particularly since the launch of the iPhone 3G. According to a new comScore report, “All about iPhone,” iPhone adoption since June 2008 rose 48 percent among those earning between $25,000 and $50,000 per year and by 46 percent among those earning between $25,000 and $75,000. These growth rates are three times that of those earning more than $100,000 per year. Overall, iPhone penetration grew 21 percent.
“As an additional household budget item, a $200 device plus at least $70 per month for phone service seems a bit extravagant for those with lower disposable income,” said Jen Wu, senior analyst, comScore, the report’s author, in the press release. “However, one actually realizes cost savings when the device is used in lieu of multiple digital devices and services, transforming the iPhone from a luxury item to a practical communication and entertainment tool.”
While the number of consumers in the $25,000 to $50,000 income demographic declined marginally from June to August 2008, their ranks among smartphone owners and mobile content users grew, in most cases above the rate of the overall market. According to comScore Mobile, the number of people earning between $25,000 and $50,000 accessing news and information via their mobile browser grew by five percent since June, while the market overall grew by three percent. comScore also reported seven percent growth in mobile e-mail usage and five percent growth in mobile music consumption among those earning between $25,000 and $50,000 per year.
“These data indicate that lower-income mobile subscribers are increasingly turning to their mobile devices to access the Internet, e-mail and their music collections,” observed Mark Donovan, senior analyst, comScore, in the press release. “Smartphones, and the iPhone in particular, are appealing to a new demographic and satisfying demand for a single device for communication and entertainment, even as consumers weather the economy by cutting back on gadgets.”
More details on the demographics and usage patterns of iPhone users and related industry trends in the U.S. are available in the comScore report, “All about iPhone,” (US$4,999) which is available now at www.comscore.com/iphone.
Source: comScore, Inc.
[Attribution: The Wall Street Journal. Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “bc” and “Citymark” for the heads up.]
“You know, one of our entrants into [the “netbook”] category, if you will, is the iPhone for browsing the Internet and doing e-mail and all the other things that a NetBook lets you do. And, being connected via the cellular net wherever you are, an iPhone is a pretty good solution for that — and it fits in your pocket.” – Apple CEO Steve Jobs, October 21, 2008
Bloodbath.
And, now a couple more quotes for your enjoyment:
• The iPhone, the tech symbol of the ‘in’ crowd, is on the verge of crossing the line into AIG-like excess and arrogance. – Tom Kaneshige, InfoWorld, October 22, 2008
• I’m not sure, under the current economic conditions, that [iPhone] is a great statement to make. You may not want to flash it. – Rob Enderle, Enderle Group (of two), October 22, 2008
It’s an iPod AND a phone!! Why didn’t anybody notice this before?!?!
These iPhone buyers making $25,000 a year are obviously a bunch of trendy, elitist Apple fanboys.
At least Mac users are still richer and better educated!
haha!!! IPhone penetration grew 21%. Steve jobs found a true growth product for us all.
It’s a complete solution taking you out of the living room to the great outdoors where you need not miss out on your films, tv, music, email, news, radio, mapping directions, exercise via Nike, blogging on the go and making that extra money via creating apps for sale.
Why do you need an office when you have an iPhone?
An interesting hypothesis, but I wonder if the simpler explanation of “this is the one luxury item I’m going to splurge on” makes more sense. Or, the “I can’t pay my credit card bills as it is, so may as well enjoy it until the sheriff and repo man show up.”
One of the problems with this idea is that there’s still no easy way to get content onto the iPhone without a computer. Imagine having a music and video library in the cloud with which the iPhone could be sync’ed. Then you really wouldn’t need any other service. Now imagine that in the developing world where cellular service is often more accessible than any kind of land line…
21% penetration. Is that the best they can do?
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Does this mean the iPhones are favoured by poor students (whose parents may pay for it) or by people who want to remove their cable internet (3G), cable TV (YouTube, Handbrake), landline, PC purchase ($200 is half of even a NetBook), PC servicing (free firmware updates, free apps on store), anti-virus, etc bills for one low-ish cost bill?
How does someone do document creation on an iPhone to be read by Word users?
How about Google Docs?
Famous Grouse said:
One of the problems with this idea is that there’s still no easy way to get content onto the iPhone without a computer. Imagine having a music and video library in the cloud with which the iPhone could be sync’ed. Then you really wouldn’t need any other service. Now imagine that in the developing world where cellular service is often more accessible than any kind of land line…
You don’t need a computer to listen to Pandora. And, if you have some friends with computers who have SimplifyMedia installed, you can listen to their whole music library. You do realize Youtube is available thru iPhone, and its library gets larger and larger, and none of this requires any syncing. And, if you have a friend with a Slingbox, you can watch his cable TV, when the Slingplayer software comes out of beta.
And, when Apple releases the newest version of iPhone software, you’ll be able to download podcasts, straight to your iPhone, no computer needed.
The iPhone is still new. It’s only just begun.
Wow. The shillers are out in FORCE today
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