Aptus Consultants

As of May, the iPhone still had a surprisingly small market share: just 4.6% of the handset market across the EU5 region (the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain), and around 18% of the smartphone market. In spite of this, the Apple device has had a significant influence on mobile user behaviour and the whole industry.

IPhone owners are the most voracious consumers of mobile media: 94% do so, some 12% of mobile media users in the EU5. But the iPhone isn’t the only vehicle for mobile content. Nor is Apple the only recipient of the increasing mobile marketing spend.

While Apple has unquestionably been a stimulus for the boom in mobile marketing, it has started a fierce race among other device manufacturers and operating system platform vendors. It might be setting the pace for consumer awareness of mobile media, but there’s a chasing pack, which includes Google’s Android operating system. Android devices have gained almost 2.2m users in just a year, claiming almost 4% of the European smartphone market.

Between May 2009 to May 2010, Android has seen a 1,862% growth in active users, compared with 188% for Apple and 12% for Microsoft. Looking at the US market, where Android has been established for longer, provides an indication of what might be to come in Europe: there, Android device penetration has experienced a dramatic rise over the past six months, from 3% to 13% of the smartphone market, against Apple’s static 25% market share.

One of the most important reasons for Android’s growth is its appeal to the mass market. In the UK, almost 70% of Android users pay less than £35 a month. That sub-£35-a-month market is 84% of the addressable mobile phone market. In contrast, Apple tends to target the smaller, high end of the market. In the UK, 53% of iPhone owners pay over £36 a month, whereas only 16% of the market is in this bracket.

A further factor contributing towards Android’s rise is the way in which it replicates the media- and content-friendly approach of the iPhone, with European users exhibiting similar consumption patterns: 90% of Android owners use mobile media, 80% use apps and 83% browse the mobile internet on their phones. While not reaching Apple scales, Android has a healthy and rapidly growing number of users, devices and apps. Content creators and marketers are aware of the Android platform’s audience and Android-compatible content is a close second on their list to iPhone.