Why the Android market is the future of mobile affiliate marketing

Why the Android market is the future of mobile affiliate marketing

Like it or not, the Android market is set to shape the future of mobile affiliate marketing.

Smartphone use is exploding, and many online gaming companies have embraced the new smartphone operating systems (OS). Most online casino and poker developers now create mobile versions of the web’s most popular gaming rooms for either Google’s Android or Apple’s iPhone — usually, both.

 Because

1. The iPhone and the Android are by far the largest drivers of the smartphone market. 
2. In recent years, Google’s own Android phones have not only caught up to the iPhone in sales to new users, but are beating it

Android OS – 50%
Apple iOS - 25%
RIM BlackBerry OS – 15%
Windows WP7 – 7%
Palm/Web OS – 2%
Symbian OS – 1%

•  Affiliates still shouldn’t underestimate the iPhone. It’s clearly the cooler of the two brands, when it comes to mobile affiliate marketing

•  It should also be noted that the iPhone is hardware and an operating system. That means that only Apple can produce devices using the iPhone OS.

• On the other hand, the Google Android market is wide open to any phone manufacturer that wants to produce it.

Why the future belongs to Android

The iPhone is far from dead, and is still a valuable market, the Google Android market is growing at a much faster rate, and is expected to be the mobile industry standard in the near future.

Big brands on Android

The world’s leading gaming brands are already embracing the Android market as a gaming platform.

1. In July, 2011, Bwin released a new Android mobile app.
2. In January, 2011, Microgaming released a suite of Android games, and has continued to release Android games via its Spin3 division throughout the year. 
3. Other brands that have launched Android versions of their gaming rooms include William Hill, All Slots Casino, 32Red, Bet365, and quite a few others.

If you’re not in on this market yet, you may be missing out now, and you’ll certainly be missing out in the long term. 

U.S. Smartphone Market: Who’s the Most Wanted?

Things change quickly in the U.S. smartphone market.

According to The Nielsen Company’s monthly surveys of U.S. mobile consumers from July-September 2010, consumers planning on getting a new smartphone had a very clear preference: 

• A third (33%) wanted an Apple iPhone 
• Slightly more than a quarter (26%) said they desired a device with the Google Android operating system (OS). 
• And 13 percent said they wanted a RIM Blackberry.

But consumer preferences can be fickle. Those same surveys for January 2011 – March 2011 show just how much things have changed:

• According to the latest figures, 31 percent of consumers who plan to get a new smartphone indicated Android was now their preferred OS. 
• Apple’s iOS has slipped slightly in popularity to 30 percent
• RIM Blackberry is down to 11 percent.
• Almost 20 percent of consumers are unsure of what to choose next

So IPhone is going to face the tough time