Admob bites Google, jumps on Apple's lap

Admob finds that iPhone users are happier, purchase more apps than Android users.

In the Apple-Google Wars, Cupertino is much better at sucking cash out of consumer pockets. While Google has the online ad market all but cornered, getting Joe Six Pack to shell out money directly has not been the Search Giant’s strong point.

A study published today by Google-owned mobile ad company AdMob shows that iPhone users are willing to spend more on apps. The study states:

Android and iPhone users download a similar number of apps every month and spend a similar amount of time using the apps. However, some differences between the platforms still exist. Only 21% of Android users purchase at least 1 paid app per month, compared to 24% of webOS users, 35% of iPod touch users and 50% of iPhone users.

It could be that big spenders are drawn to the iPhone, but given that all smartphones are similarly priced, I’d bet Apple is simply better at making users feel good about using the credit card. It can’t hurt that anyone who’s ever bought a song on iTunes store merely has to enter a password to make a purchase.

It’s ironic that AdMob, whose study shows the iPhone’s superiority in a number of ways, is owned will likely be owned soon by Google (the acquisition deal is currently in FTC review). The study finds, for example, that iPhone users are also happier than Android users:

91% of iPhone users and 88% of iPod touch users would recommend their device, compared to 84% of Android users and 69% of webOS users. webOS users are 3.4x more likely to not recommend their device relative to iPhone OS users.

Apparently, Android is also gender-biased:

73% of Android users are male, compared to 58% of webOS users, 57% of iPhone users and 54% iPod touch users. The iPhone, iPod touch and webOS have similar gender distributions, with just over half of the users on all devices being male.

Could it be that the “Bare-knuckle bucket of does” slogan for Android’s most popular device, the Droid, does more to electrify testosterone than estrogen?

At least Android users are loyal. Whereas 16% of iPhone users said they intend to purchase an iPad, only 6% of Android users plan on getting one. Approximately the same percentage of Android users were interested in purchasing the Amazon Kindle as were interested in purchasing the iPad.