iPhone Top Device For DownloadsiPhone Top Device For Downloads

Far more iPhone and iPod Touch users download entertainment content and applications from the Web through their devices than users of Internet-connected game consoles and Blu-ray disc players, a market research firm says.

Fully 75% of users of the Apple devices download software, music, video, games, and other Web content compared to 19% of game console users and 17% of Blu-ray disk player owners, the NPD Group found in a survey of Americans released Tuesday. Overall, 16% of people age 13 and older are using devices other than their home computers to download Web content.

"It's not surprising that Apple users are ahead of others when it comes to downloading Web-based content, given the breadth of the company's app catalog and the head start iTunes had selling music for the iPod," NPD analyst Russ Crupnick said in a statement.

However, Apple is not expected to hold onto its large lead for long. As Internet-connected devices become more commonplace and the number of online application stores increases, NPD expects to see downloads to non-Apple devices and platforms increase significantly.

Indeed, in February, ABI reported that the Apple iPhone lost market share in the fourth quarter of 2009, as smartphone rivals Motorola and Nokia gained share. The iPhone accounted for 16.6% of global smartphone shipments in the fourth quarter, compared to 18.1% in the third quarter.

Among iPhone and iPod Touch users who download content, free applications from Apple's App Store are the most popular download category, followed by games and music. Among game-console users, game add-ons were the most popular category, followed by entire games and movie rentals. Movies were the most popular download among the third of Blu-ray player users who connected their devices to the Internet.

"Music now competes with games and other apps for share of device, share of wallet, and share of time," Crupnick said. "Entertainment companies need to start to think of apps in broader terms, not only as a way of garnering direct sales from downloads, but also as a pathway to paying for additional entertainment content."

For example, an application that reviews movies could also be used to sell DVDs, Blu-ray disks, or movie downloads.

NPD's Entertainment Trends in America survey was based on survey responses from more than 10,350 U.S. consumers age 13 or older.