Mobile Gaming Lags Among Consumers on Android Platform

SAN FRANCISCO, March 4 /PRNewswire/ -- As Google prepares to win over prospective Android developers at next week's Game Developers' Conference in San Francisco -- the largest event of its kind -- Mplayit's latest data from its cross-platform app store on Facebook shows that games are four times as popular among iPhone users than among the Android user base. BlackBerry users are twice as likely to be looking for game content than Android users, despite the device's strong business reputation[1].

 Breakdown of App Activity

"Android is a powerful platform of compelling APIs, but Google needs to persuade both gamers and game developers to get on board," said Michael Powers, Mplayit CEO. "GDC will be a critical opportunity for Google to build the all-important developer momentum that will in time fan out to the ordinary consumer. Meanwhile, we're focused on helping consumers discover the great apps that are available now!"

The growing consumer interest in Android devices, as well as Google's outreach to the game developer community, speak to an opportunity for game developers to tap into a growing market. However,  the data also points to the need for consumer marketers to put Android on the map as a compelling gaming platform - much in the way that Apple has done with iPhone.

"Games are the most obvious example - but our analysis shows distinct personality traits for the different platforms," continued Powers. "iPhone users are in it for fun, Android users currently enjoy more useful, strategic apps, and BlackBerry users are staying true to the platform's business background."

Other trends identified by Mplayit include:

• The Location Based Services category continues to grow in popularity and while Loopt, Foursquare and Gowalla usually get the most attention from media, the analysis shows growing consumer interest in lesser known apps on iPhone that include FastMall, AroundMe on iPhone, and BeatTheTraffic on BlackBerry.
• Evernote continues to dominate on all platforms in the Lists & Notes category.
• Barcode-scanning apps are increasingly popular, holding the top Utilities category slot for iPhone and BlackBerry, and the second Shopping category slot for Android and iPhone.
• For the second month in a row, Facebook has had zero presence in Blackberry's top three list in the Social Networking category.
• Pandora fell from both iPhone and Android's top three lists in the Music & Radio category since January.

"We're changing app discovery across all of the major mobile platforms by providing consumers with a quick and simple way to find apps they wouldn't have been able to find through more traditional means," said Michael Powers, CEO and founder of Mplayit. "App discoverability is crucial for the success of developers and we're giving them a great new way to reach consumers directly and increase awareness for their brand."

Mplayit offers search and try-before-you-buy playable previews of popular mobile applications on leading mobile platforms that are accessible from a standard Web or mobile browser. Users can rate, comment, and recommend individual apps to their social network including Facebook and Twitter. In addition, Mplayit's unique 'Apptivity' feed gives users a view of the most played and recommended apps in real time, adding a useful and entertaining element to regular lists or rankings.

About Mplayit

Mplayit is the leading global provider for online playable discovery and social merchandising of mobile games and applications. The company's proprietary software solutions enable mobile content providers to better merchandise, market, and interact with a targeted user audience of mobile consumers. Mplayit is backed by New Atlantic Ventures. For more information, visit mplayit.com or email [email protected]. You can also follow Mplayit on Twitter: @Mplayit.

[1] Statistics were collected from 61,202 Facebook users from February 1-13.

SOURCE Mplayit