After yesterday's exciting announcement of the Mac App Store, you'd think everyone would be happy. Well, while some developers are on the fence as to whether or not this is a good thing for Mac software development, a new study from Nielsen shows that perhaps apps aren't quite as important as we once thought. Why? Because 35% of iPad owners have never downloaded one.
63% of iPad owners have paid for an app, with an additional 5% having only downloaded free apps, but 35% downloading none at all sounds strange, to say the least. Without downloading an app, you can't watch Netflix or Hulu, play games, read an eBook (even iBooks must be downloaded from the App Store), or even use a calculator (the Apple calculator app is not present on the iPad).
A surprisingly large number, if you ask us.
What can you do? Surf the net, watch YouTube videos, view maps, listen to music (that you own) and podcasts, rent or buy movies and TV shows, check or update your calendar, and send e-mail. Sure, there are a few other pre-installed (and unremovable) apps, but it boggles the mind to think of people never actually using the App Store, even for a free app (of which there are thousands).
Have we overestimated the importance of additional features that Apple does not supply? We have a feeling that all of our readers have indeed downloaded apps, but do you know someone who hasn't? Does the standalone Internet provide enough that apps are completely unnecessary for some people? After all, you can visit YouTube's website without the need to use the app.
Perhaps its the concept of "store" that scares some people away. After plopping down at least $499 plus tax for an iPad, perhaps they feel that everything they really need is already accounted for. Perhaps they bought an iPad for what it can do, not what it could do.
We'd be interested to see if this number drops over time. However, Apple has spent plenty of advertising dollars hyping the capability and variety of apps out there, and the company recently won the exclusive rights to use the common catchphrase, "There's an app for that."
What are your thoughts?
3 Comments
The graph says 32%, not 35%.
I suspect someone accidentally swapped the labels. 32% downloaded only a free app and 5% didn't download any apps at all.
At least I HOPE that's what happened!
Nielsen screwed up. They have amended their chart to reflect that 91% have downloaded apps.
I see HTML doesn't work. The story is at:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/10/25/nielsen_restates_ipad_stats/
Add a Comment