iOS App Downloads Spike on Heels of iPhone 4S Launch
By Beecher Tuttle, TMCnet Contributor
The number of iPhone (News - Alert) application downloads in the month of November increased 83 percent from a year ago, powered mostly by a surge of new iPhone 4S users and the rapid adoption of iOS 5, along with its subsequent app updates, according to mobile app marketing research firm Fiksu.
The report, which looks at the top 200 free U.S. iPhone apps, found that downloads peaked at 5.65 million per day in November, easily breaking the previous October record of 4.91 million app downloads per day.
“Unlike October’s intermittent spikes in downloads and costs, November saw a steady increase in demand for app downloads without any notable fluctuations in mobile app marketing costs," Fiksu CEO Micah Adler noted in a statement.
In addition, Fiksu's Cost per Loyal User Index – the firm's estimated measure of how much it costs a developer who proactively markets their apps to acquire a loyal user – remained relatively steady, even over Thanksgiving weekend. The average cost actually dropped to $1.43 in November, down from $1.47 in October and $1.64 in September.
"Signs indicate that app marketers have become savvier about planning and executing their ad spends during seasonal periods to avoid paying premium prices for acquiring users," Adler added. "In fact, November presented them with a somewhat unique opportunity to add more users at costs that were actually below October's."
As one would expect, the marketing research firm is anticipating an even more robust December for iPhone app downloads. With just a couple days left in 2011, Apple (News 
- Alert) is reportedly on pace to sell more than 30 million of its iconic handsets by the end of the year.
On Christmas day alone, more than 6.8 million iPhones were activated, representing a 140 percent jump over the same period of 2010. In addition, consumers downloaded a whopping 242 million application on Dec. 25, an increase of 125 percent from the previous year.
To make a long story short, Apple continues to dominate the consumer tech world. In fact, Google (News - Alert) announced earlier this month that Apple accounted for the top six spots in the fastest-rising tech-related U.S. searches for 2011, led by the iCloud, the company's OSX Lion operating system and the iPad 2.
Beecher Tuttle is a TMCnet contributor. He has extensive experience writing and editing for print publications and online news websites. He has specialized in a variety of industries, including health care technology, politics and education. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.
Edited by Rich Steeves
