Appy Christmas

Analytics specialist firm Flurry reports that Christmas Day set new records for both iOS and Android device activations during a festive season that has seen a massive surge in sales, driven by continued strong demand for tablets and smartphones.

Over the period December 1 to December 20 some 4 million new iOS and Android devices were switched on, and that soared to 17.4 million on Christmas Day, give or take 10 percent, claims Flurry.

Tablet devices held a slight edge with 51 percent of activations against smartphone apps which accounted for 49 percent.

Online retailers like Amazon reported strong demand for tablets, taking sales massively over forecast and monthly averages.

The boom in device sales was matched by a corresponding surge in the huge range of apps that users can choose to install on them; Flurry reports that there were 328 million iOS and Android apps downloaded this Christmas Day….86 million more than the comparative period in 2011, when app downloads tripled over year 2010.

Top downloads included Instagram, Youtube, Google Maps, Skype for iPad, Subway Surfers and Flowfree.

With the tablet and smartphone industries continuing to innovate and develop, and new products appearing with increasing frequency, competition is going to be intense in 2013, and that’s usually good news for the consumer.