Nielsen Releases First Mobile Media Rankings Based on Audience Measurement Data from Android Smartphone Meters

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nielsen, the leading global provider of information and analytics around what consumers buy and watch, today released the first mobile media rankings based on audience measurement data from the company’s new Nielsen Smartphone Analytics. This new service uses metered data from thousands of Android and iOS smartphones in the United States to report actual consumer behavior.

“Publishers and media companies can finally get the audience measurement metrics they need to price and sell their advertising inventory, while advertisers and marketers can better define winning strategies for leveraging the power of mobile.”

“Metered insights are instrumental to the growth of mobile media,” said Jonathan Carson, general manager of Digital, Nielsen. “Publishers and media companies can finally get the audience measurement metrics they need to price and sell their advertising inventory, while advertisers and marketers can better define winning strategies for leveraging the power of mobile.”

Nielsen Smartphone Analytics provides audience measurement metrics and ratings, including frequency, duration, and total audience measures. Nielsen currently has meters installed on more than 5,000 smartphones used by consumers who have chosen to be a part of this smartphone panel. (These consumers understand Nielsen is only interested in sharing anonymous, aggregate data and not any personally identifiable information.)

First Android App Ratings Released

According to the first mobile audience measurement data from metered smartphone usage, after the Android Market app itself, apps for Facebook, maps and mail had the highest active reach among U.S. Android users above the age of 18. (“Active reach” is defined as the percentage of Android owners who used an app within the past 30 days.”)

While many of the top 20 apps showed similar active usage by both male and female Android smartphone owners, there were notable differences in active reach for social apps. Facebook's mobile app saw an active reach of 81 percent for women Android smartphone owners compared to just 69 percent for male Android smartphone owners. Twitter also reached more women (16.5%) than men (13.4%). However, Google+, the newest social network, had more than twice the active reach among men (15.8%) than women (7.2%).

Outside of social media, apps like Kindle and Words With Friends had higher active reach among women, while Quickoffice Pro and the Amazon App store had higher active reach among men. Google Maps had a higher active reach among men, too: 77 percent active reach among men compared to 71.8 percent among women.

Top 20 Android Apps in the US

Source: Nielsen Smartphone Analytics, Device-meter data from July 2011, Android Smartphone Users, 18+


Android App Name				Overall Active Reach
Android Market				90.5%
Google Maps				74.6%
Gmail				74.5%
Facebook				73.5%
Google Search				71.9%
YouTube				51.4%
Advanced Task Killer Free				26.1%
Angry Birds				25.9%
QuickofficePro				25.3%
Pandora Radio				23.9%
The Weather Channel				17.8%
Amazon AppStore				17.7%
Words With Friends				16.0%
Talk – Text to Voice				16.0%
Twitter				14.9%
Barcode Scanner				13.9%
Adobe Reader				13.9%
Angry Birds Rio				13.6%
Kindle				12.4%
Google+				11.8%
Android App Name				Male Active Reach
Android Market				90.6%
Google Maps				77.1%
Gmail				75.5%
Google Search				72.4%
Facebook				66.9%
YouTube				53.7%
QuickofficePro				27.4%
Angry Birds				27.3%
Pandora Radio				24.4%
Advanced Task Killer Free				24.2%
Amazon AppStore				19.2%
The Weather Channel				18.3%
Talk – Text to Voice				16.7%
Google+				15.9%
Adobe Reader				15.2%
Barcode Scanner				13.7%
Angry Birds Rio				13.5%
Twitter				13.4%
Words With Friends				12.2%
Kindle				10.2%
Android App Name				Female Active Reach
Android Market				90.5%
Facebook				81.0%
Gmail				73.4%
Google Maps				71.9%
Google Search				71.3%
YouTube				48.7%
Advanced Task Killer Free				28.3%
Angry Birds				24.2%
Pandora Radio				23.2%
QuickofficePro				23.0%
Words With Friends				20.3%
The Weather Channel				17.2%
Twitter				16.5%
Amazon AppStore				15.9%
Talk – Text to Voice				15.1%
Kindle				14.8%
Barcode Scanner				14.3%
Angry Birds Rio				13.8%
Adobe Reader				12.4%
Google+				7.2%

About Nielsen

Nielsen Holdings N.V. (NYSE: NLSN) is a global information and measurement company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence, mobile measurement, trade shows and related properties. Nielsen has a presence in approximately 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA and Diemen, the Netherlands. For more information, visit www.nielsen.com.