Handango's Annual Yardstick Report Shows Games and Entertainment Apps Top the Charts
Written by Handango
Wednesday, 17 September 2008
Handango's Annual Yardstick Report Shows Games and Entertainment Apps
Top the Charts for First Time Ever - Handango Adds More Than 370
Developers in First Half of Year
IRVING, Texas, Sept. 17 -- Handango, the world's leading provider of multi-platform smartphone apps, today released the First Half 2008 Handango Yardstick, a global trend report about the smartphone content industry. The Games category leaped from fourth place at year-end 2007 into the second spot behind the Entertainment category, for the first time in Yardstick history. This indicates that categories focused on "killing time" are now surpassing the categories known for "saving time," such as business and productivity apps, in unit sales. Contributing to this increase in Games ranking are strong sales from popular titles from brands such as EA(TM) Mobile and Capcom(R) Interactive. In a separate Handango survey that measured consumer smartphone behavior and opinion, an overwhelming 86% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that smartphone content makes their lives easier while 76% agreed that it made their lives more enjoyable.
In the first half of 2008, Handango added more than 370 developer partners to its roster of more than 23,000. Handango's catalog now exceeds 140,000 apps spanning numerous categories including Entertainment, Games, Productivity, Business & Professional, Utilities, Travel, Health & Fitness and more.
FIRST HALF OF 2008 IN REVIEW:
Smartphone users downloading more Games and Entertainment applications than any other category of content.
In the first half of 2008, Entertainment and Games ranked one and two respectively in the top selling categories, totaling 42% of unit sales of the top ten categories. Business & Professional applications, number four at 13% in 2007, moved up to third place with 15%. This suggests that smartphone owners are now utilizing their devices as mini entertainment centers in addition to the traditional business use. Productivity applications, such as address book and calendar, took fourth place with 9%.
BlackBerry(TM) tops the list of top devices downloading the most content.
The BlackBerry 8830 and BlackBerry Curve were the top two devices adding software in the first half of 2008. The BlackBerry Curve moved up from the number four position in the second half of 2007. More than 1,000 new mobile applications were added to the BlackBerry catalog during this period.
Recent quantitative research with Handango's customers revealed positive responses on the value of smartphone applications.
-- 86% of respondents agree or strongly agree that smartphone applications
make their lives easier
-- 76% agree or strongly agree that smartphone applications make their
lives more enjoyable
-- 85% agree or strongly agree that smartphone applications save them time
-- 84% of respondents agreed that smartphone applications are a great way
to pass the time when they are bored or waiting
-- Holiday stocking stuffers -- 37% would purchase a mobile application as
a gift for someone while 56% would like to receive one
-- Technophobes rest easy -- 73% of respondents said that downloading
applications onto their smartphone is easy
Additional analysis of Handango customer data shows the following:
-- "Ringtones" was the most searched term in the first half of 2008, and
"games" was a near second, up from number three in the second half of
2007. "Themes," "GPS," "weather," and "music" also make the list of the
top 10 searches.
-- Ringtone and streaming television applications remain among the top
sellers across multiple platforms.
PLATFORM OVERVIEW
The First Half 2008 Handango Yardstick also provides information on each of the main smartphone operating systems including RIM(R) (BlackBerry(TM)), Palm OS(R), Windows Mobile(R) Standard (formerly Smartphone), Windows Mobile(R) Professional (formerly Pocket PC), and Symbian OS(R).
RIM (BlackBerry)
The top-ranked content categories for BlackBerry this year were Entertainment, Games and Business & Professional. However, the top 10 individual applications sold for BlackBerry represented numerous categories. BlackBerry had four devices in the top 10 list of smartphones adding content in the first half of this year.
The top 10 best-selling applications for BlackBerry in First Half 2008 were:
1. Ringtone Megaplex (ringtones)
2. Colour Your Trackball (trackball customizer)
3. VoiceControl (voice command)
4. BBSmart Email Viewer (email enhancement)
5. SplashID for BlackBerry (information security)
6. Ringphonic Lite (ringtones)
7. Pimp My Pearl (customization)
8. IM+ (instant messenger consolidator)
9. eOffice (productivity suite)
10. IM+ for Skype (instant messenger consolidator)
Palm OS
Palm OS has not released any new devices in 2008 and therefore, Palm OS devices have fallen out of the top 10 list of smartphones adding content.
The top 10 best-selling applications for Palm OS in First Half 2008 were:
1. SplashID for Palm (information security)
2. VoiceControl (voice command)
3. PocketMirror Standard (personal information management)
4. Agendus Professional Edition (personal information management)
5. Agendus Desktop Edition (Outlook synchronization)
6. Traffic -- One City (traffic)
7. SplashID for Desktop (information security)
8. Ringo Pro (ringtones)
9. eWallet for PCs (information security)
10. PocketMirror Standard Upgrade (personal information management)
Windows Mobile Standard (formerly Smartphone)
While the top 10 individual applications span several categories, Windows Mobile Standard users continue to focus on fun in 2008, as Entertainment and Games remain the top two categories for the platform. There are no Windows Mobile Standard devices in the top 10 list of smartphones adding content in the first half of 2008, whereas the Motorola Q and the ATT 8525 both made the top 10 list in the second half of 2007.
The top 10 best-selling applications for Windows Mobile Standard in First Half 2008 were:
1. MobiTV (streaming television)
2. Ringtone Megaplex (ringtones)
3. SBSH Facade (home screen plug in)
4. eWallet Professional Edition (personal information management)
5. Documents To Go Premium Edition (productivity suite)
6. PocketStreamer Deluxe (streaming media)
7. Agenda One (calendar manager)
8. SmartphoneNotes (note manager)
9. Jeyo Mobile Extender for Outlook (text messaging)
10. Photo Contacts Pro (phone features)
Window Mobile Professional (formerly Pocket PC)
Three Windows Mobile Professional devices made the top 10 list of smartphones adding content in the first half of this year -- the ATT Tilt, the HTC TyTNI II and the HTC Touch. The Games category leaped to the number one position in the first half of 2008. The Business & Professional category remained in the number two spot, followed by Entertainment.
The top 10 best-selling applications for Windows Mobile Professional in First Half 2008 were:
1. Spb Mobile Shell (today screen plug in)
2. MobiTV (streaming television)
3. Spb Pocket Plus (today screen plug in)
4. Pocket Informant 8 (today screen plug in)
5. Spb Backup (file backup)
6. eWallet (personal information management)
7. Spb Phone Suite (phone features)
8. Ringo Mobile (ringtones)
9. Spb Time (clock)
10. SOTI Pocket Controller-Pro (desktop synchronization)
Symbian
Productivity and Utilities applications remained the top two categories, respectively, in unit sales in the first half of 2008 on the Symbian platform. The top device for Symbian OS continues to be the Nokia N95, which launched in 2007.
The top 10 best-selling Symbian OS applications in First Half 2008 include:
The Handango Yardstick data consolidates and reports on key smartphone market data based on content purchases from across the Handango distribution network -- Handango.com, partner storefronts including carriers, device manufacturers and operating systems, as well as individual application developers' websites that are powered by the Handango Commerce Engine. Market data in the report includes sales by content category; sales by device; top searches; the number of new software providers and applications added to the Handango library, and best-selling applications for each of the five major smartphone operating systems: RIM(R) (BlackBerry(TM)), Palm OS(R), Windows Mobile(R) Standard (formerly Smartphone) and Windows Mobile(R) Professional (formerly Pocket PC) and Symbian OS(R).
Go to http://corp.handango.com/ and click on Yardstick under the Press Room to download a copy of the First Half 2008 Handango Yardstick.
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