Australian mobile users more sophisticated than US or UK counterparts, says Google Australia
23% of Australians would rather give up their TV than their smartphone, according to new figures about consumers’ smartphone usage released today by internet search giant Google.
According to a study conducted with IPSOS Media CT, Australia has one of the highest rates of smartphone adoption in the world. Australia’s smartphone penetration is now 52%, a significant increase from last year’s figure of 37%.
Jason Pellegrino, Google Australia’s head of mobile ads told Mumbrella that “The year of mobile has already happened. If mobile strategy isn’t being considered by the CEO or at board level, you’re already behind the 8-ball.”
Pellegrino said: “Often in digital we look to learnings and case studies from the UK or US to inform the way we do things in Australia. But we don’t have that option with mobile – Australians are actually more advanced in the way they use their smartphones than our counterparts overseas,”
Really? I’d happily swap back to a Nokia 8110 if it meant I didn’t lose my TV, I’d be very interested to see how that question was posed.
If you think about it, there is a significantly higher proportion of city dewlers than the UK / US in Australia. Does this mean that they are more tech savvy?
I seem to recall even in the mid 90’s mobile penetration in Australia was significantly higher than in the UK. Given this fact, I’m not suprised by these results. A classic case of the consumer being ahead of the curve vs marketers.
Maybe it’s more of a relection on how bad Australian TV is?
Agree Jim M!!! Absolute garbage…
Hi Google do you need any more analytics then this to launch prototypes and new Apps into commercial markets by starting in Australia?
Think about it…there you go…there it is!
people are using mobiles – QUICK LETS PUT ADS ALL OVER IT!
>”If you think about it, there is a significantly higher proportion of city dewlers than the UK / US in Australia. Does this mean that they are more tech savvy?”
That isn’t really comparable. Even the remotest UK rural village (Orkney Isles excepted) is usually no more than 30 minutes from a major town centre. City vs country isn’t so delineated as it is in Australia.
What possibly helped drive iPhone usage in Australia (and thence smartphone familiarity and uptake in general) here was the lack of exclusivity: in the UK they were tied to a single operator for much longer.