ANDROID DOMINATES SOCIAL MEDIA BUZZ, IT’S ALL ABOUT APPS! 

By: Farshad Family, Managing Director - Media, Nielsen

Samsung handsets lead online discussions on Android

Smartphone user experience determined by Apps usage

With the Smartphone market seeing considerable activity in India, the parameters to draw the lines of distinction between the various handsets are seemingly being reflected in the Operating System (OS) used on the phone. Online conversations in India around Smartphone Operating Systems (OS) show that Google’s Android OS leads consumer discussions when compared to operating systems on the iPhone and the Blackberry. An online review monitored by NM Incite, a Nielsen/McKinsey Company, over the first six months of 2011 spread across a broad spectrum of consumer generated media sources including blogs, boards, social media networks, groups, videos and images showed that 45 percent of all conversations related to Smartphone Operating Systems focused on the Android OS, up from 32 percent during the same period last year. 

All other operating systems, including Blackberry, show a decline in share of buzz between the second half of 2010 and the first half of this year. Apple’s iOS occupies the second spot, dropping from 31 percent in the second half of 2010 to 27 percent in the first half of 2011. Also, consumer sentiment/discussion indicates that the trend of Android OS leading online conversations is likely to continue into the first half of 2012.

All About Apps

The NM Incite online review of Smartphone OS buzz also uncovered that applications or ‘apps’ for use on a particular OS are the biggest drivers of conversation for mobile handset Operating Systems.

When looked at by individual operating systems, for Android users, the OS version appears to be the main driver of social media conversation, while in the case of the iPhone and Blackberry, hardware features are key drivers.

In fact, apps corner a 40% of the overall buzz related to Android and 33% of the buzz related to iPhones. This indicates the potential of apps to draw in existing users and attract new ones. In contrast only 30 percent of discussions around the Symbian OS are related to apps, which explain the reduced interest in the Symbian OS on social networking sites.

Predicting Changing Preferences

The NM Incite online review on Social Media Buzz for Smartphones also indicates that conversations around Android phones showed a growing shift in preference when it came to handset manufacturer brands. For the latter half of 2010 and first half of 2011, Samsung is the most discussed brand, followed by HTC. Interestingly, the buzz around brands like Motorola, LG and Sony Ericsson has increased recently. At a handset model level, Samsung leads the list with five of the ten most discussed Android handsets coming from its stable. This could be due to the increasing fragmentation of the Android conversation as it relates to the handset manufacturers. The findings suggest it will become harder for the handset manufacturers that rely on Android to differentiate themselves in a crowded marketplace. In such a scenario gaining consumer acceptance and awareness of individual options within their repertoire of handset variants will be key.

About NM Incite

NM Incite, a Nielsen/McKinsey Company, builds upon the industry-leading social media and online brand metrics, consumer insights and real-time market intelligence of Nielsen BuzzMetrics and the capability building, proprietary knowledge and expertise in areas of marketing & sales, organization and service operations of McKinsey to help businesses harness the full potential of social media intelligence. NM Incite currently operates in 24 countries with headquarters in New York. For more information, please visit www.nmincite.com or Twitter: @nmincite

Download PDF

Back