Tuesday, August 21, 2012

The Number One Smartphone Use? Checking The Weather, According To One Study

Does it surprise you that over two-thirds of smartphone owners say they could not "live without" their devices?
Probably not, particularly if you own a smartphone yourself. Something you might find more interesting is what we tend to do with our mobiles.



According to a recent study from Online Publishing Associates (OPA), 29 percent of smartphone owners get local news from their phones, while 31 percent use these devices to watch videos.

But the number one regular activity accomplished on smartphones? Forty-seven percent say they use their devices to perform the mundane task of…checking the weather.

You can view the full list compiled by OPA below:


number one use smartphone

Is it because weather apps are a quick click for information, or are we weather-obsessive because the predictions often seem totally wrong? Either way, 93 percent of smartphone owners say they use their devices for "accessing content and information." Apparently, the question of carrying an umbrella is foremost in many of their minds.

The Atlantic Wire says of this report: "It's not that the weather isn't something useful to look up, but compared to all the other incredible things phones can do — there are over 500,000 apps in Apple's store! — it is one of the least impressive."

Listed below are a few other interesting highlights from OPA's study, titled "A Portrait of Today's Smartphone User":
-Androids are most popular in the marketplace, with iPhones close behind.
-More time is spent on the mobile web than in applications.
-iPhone users are more likely to take action after seeing a mobile ad.
-The average amount of apps downloaded per user in 2012 was 36.

To perform this study, OPA partnered with consulting firm Frank N. Magid Associates, Inc. to analyze data collected from March 19 through March 26, 2012, per a company press release. The research came from an "online survey of 2,540 internet users between the ages of eight and 64."

A Mobile Mindset Study conducted earlier this year by security app Lookout found that 58 percent of U.S. smartphone owners check their phones at least every hour. This information, coupled with OPA's new study, certainly paints a portrait of smartphone users as being hooked to their handsets and hungry for instant access to new information.

Are you an obsessive weather checker, and do you think these mobile habits affect the way you live? When do you feel too connected to technology, and what do you do to unwind and unplug? Sound off in the comments section, or let us know your thoughts by tweeting us at [@HuffPostTech]. Then check out the slideshow below of 11 bad habits we've picked up from our iPhones.

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