Application downloads via iPod touch devices eclipsed iPhone downloads by 172 percent on Christmas Day 2009, according to data compiled by mobile application analytics provider Flurry. Total iPod Touch download volumes grew by nearly 1,000 percent on Dec. 25 compared to the average of all previous Fridays during the month-- Flurry speculates that in addition to new iPod touch 3G models received as gifts, iTunes gift cards also drove downloads across earlier generation iPod touch devices. In addition, iPod touch download volumes topped iPhone downloads by 104 percent on Dec. 26. Cumulative App Store downloads increased by 51 percent in December 2009 compared to November totals, Flurry reports.
In early December, Flurry reported the iPod touch accounts for about 40 percent of all iPhone OS-based devices sold worldwide--moreover, the firm contends that the portable media player may boast even greater long-term strategic value than its smartphone sibling, because it's building a loyal consumer base among teens and pre-teens representing the next generation of iPhone users. "When today's young iPod touch users age by five years, they will already have iTunes accounts, saved personal contacts to their iPod touch devices, purchased hundreds of apps and songs, and mastered the iPhone OS user interface," Flurry notes. "This translates into loyalty and switching costs, allowing Apple to seamlessly ‘graduate' young users from the iPod touch to the iPhone." As of June 2009, the iPhone accounted for 57 percent of application user sessions tracked by Flurry--the iPod touch represented 31 percent, and Android devices were responsible for 10 percent. As of late November, total user sessions increased across all three devices, with the iPhone accounting for just 50 percent of sessions on average--the iPod touch's share of user sessions grew to 35 percent, followed by Android at 14 percent.
For more on the App Store's December growth spurt:
- read this Flurry blog entry
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