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Reports Suggest New Reasons iOS is More Lucrative Than Android

A couple recent reports that I’ve read for my day job suggests that although Android devices continue to outnumber and outsell in whole iPhone devices that iOS still reigns supreme as the platform of choice when it comes to revenue and actual mobile web usage.

Spreed:inc  has took notice of a couple notes in recent Mobile Marketer and Mobile Marketing Watch that points to the difference.

Mobile Web Browsing Dominated by Apple’s iOS

According to the most recent data made available, last year ended with iOS having secured a 52% market share of mobile web browsing. Net Market Share reported Monday that Android – Google’s popular mobile operating system – significantly trails iOS with regard to leading mobile devices used to browse the mobile web. As of December 2011, Android only controls a 16.2 percent market share of mobile web browsing. In second place behind Apple is Java ME with a 21.3 percent market share.

Android controls 47pc of market share: comScore

The Android operating system still reigns supreme with 47 percent of market share, according to comScore’s latest mobile report. The comScore mobile subscriber report looked at how the smartphone market breaks down by device during the month of November. The study also looked at the most popular activities that consumers do on their mobile devices.

Something has to be said for actually being a vehicle for revenue. It doesn’t matter one bit to devs or advertisers that there are a billion devices out there if they are essentially being used as feature phones.  I personally can attest that I have 4 or 5 close friends who have bought Android devices on Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile and use the phones only for texting and the occasional web search.  People purchase Android phones for the express purpose of getting off contract and using prepaid plans where data only refers to surfing the web not app data.

In any case I think this is a situation that bears watching for developers and might be yet another sign of why iOS continues to get the first look from developers despite more Android devices actually being in use.

What are your experiences? Have any of you noticed an abundance of people using Android phones as super-feature phones?

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