• Home
  • News
  • Fortune 500
  • Tech
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

You iPhone. Me iPod touch.

By
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Down Arrow Button Icon
June 16, 2009, 8:00 AM ET



What — besides a two-year, $2,000-plus commitment to AT&T (T) — makes a person who carries an iPhone different from one who’s got an iPod touch?

From January to May, comScore tapped into AdMob’s U.S. advertising network to conduct a survey of owners of both Apple (AAPL) mobile devices and drew some interesting conclusions, which it released Tuesday morning.

First, the comScore/AdMob survey, like last week’s Forrester report, identified several ways both groups differ from the general population. For example,

  • 70% are men
  • Half use the mobile Web more than they read newspapers or magazines
  • More than 40% use their mobile devices more often than their computers to visit the Internet
  • More than 40% spend more time on the mobile Web than they do listening to the radio

But when the researchers drilled into their data, they discovered that iPhone and iPod touch owners occupy very different demographics. For example …

  • iPhone owners are older. 69% of iPod touch users are between ages 13-24, while 74% of iPhone users are older than 25
  • iPod touch owners are less wealthy. 78% of iPhone users have a household income of $25,000 or more, compared with 66% of iPod touch users
  • iPhone owners have more kids. 46% of iPhone users have children while only 28% of iPod touch users do
  • iPod touch owners are more likely … to be in the market for cellphones, clothes, TVs and other electronics
  • iPhone owners are more likely … to spend money on travel, financial services and a new home

Most of these findings flow directly from the first: iPhone owners are older and therefor have more money, more kids, more need of financial services, etc. (The one thing most don’t need is another cellphone.)

And you might think that this age difference flows directly from all those free iPod touches Apple handed out last summer — and will hand out again this summer — to college students buying MacBooks.

But Jason Spero, AdMob’s North American managing director, thinks it has more to do with 1) the cost of that two-year commitment to AT&T, and 2) the big advertising campaign Apple ran last December pushing the touch — and the explosion of games that run on it — as the “funnest iPod ever,” a campaign clearly pitched to younger users.

Spero says the effect of Apple’s marketing push leaped out of their December data: an explosive, almost vertical spike in AdMob’s iPod touch Web requests between Dec. 24 and Dec. 25. “The iPod touch became THE gift for Christmas,” he says.

ComScore describes itself as a leader in measuring the digital world, and AdMob is the world’s largest purveyor of mobile Web ads. ComScore used invitation banners to solicit respondents from AdMob’s network and ended up interviewing 3,454 iPhone users and 3,848 iPod touch owners.

See also:

  • How are iPhone owners different?
  • iPod touch use “exploded” Christmas day

Below the fold: snapshots of the two demographics as reflected in a few of the comScore/AdMob graphics.







About the Author
By Philip Elmer-DeWitt
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in

NewslettersTerm Sheet
Four key questions about OpenAI vs Google—the high-stakes tech matchup of 2026
By Alexei OreskovicDecember 5, 2025
18 minutes ago
Personal FinanceSavings accounts
Today’s best high-yield savings account rates on Dec. 5, 2025: Earn up to 5.00% APY
By Glen Luke FlanaganDecember 5, 2025
19 minutes ago
Personal FinanceCertificates of Deposit (CDs)
This CD still yields 4.18%—here are today’s best CD rates on Dec. 5, 2025
By Glen Luke FlanaganDecember 5, 2025
19 minutes ago
InvestingMarkets
Facing a vast wave of incoming liquidity, the S&P 500 prepares to surf to a new record high
By Jim EdwardsDecember 5, 2025
23 minutes ago
Ray Dalio attends the Fortune Global Forum Riyadh 2025 on October 27, 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Economynational debt
Ray Dalio says ‘a little bit of everything’ is needed to prevent a debt crisis—but it won’t happen anyway
By Eleanor PringleDecember 5, 2025
26 minutes ago
Scott Bessent speaks with Andrew Ross Roskin at Dealbook Summit
LawTariffs
Treasury Secretary Bessent insists Trump’s tariff agenda is ‘permanent,’ saying the White House can recreate it even with a Supreme Court loss
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezDecember 5, 2025
1 hour ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
Two months into the new fiscal year and the U.S. government is already spending more than $10 billion a week servicing national debt
By Eleanor PringleDecember 4, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
‘Godfather of AI’ says Bill Gates and Elon Musk are right about the future of work—but he predicts mass unemployment is on its way
By Preston ForeDecember 4, 2025
20 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang admits he works 7 days a week, including holidays, in a constant 'state of anxiety' out of fear of going bankrupt
By Jessica CoacciDecember 4, 2025
19 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Nearly 4 million new manufacturing jobs are coming to America as boomers retire—but it's the one trade job Gen Z doesn't want
By Emma BurleighDecember 4, 2025
21 hours ago
placeholder alt text
North America
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos commit $102.5 million to organizations combating homelessness across the U.S.: ‘This is just the beginning’
By Sydney LakeDecember 2, 2025
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
Health
Bill Gates decries ‘significant reversal in child deaths’ as nearly 5 million kids will die before they turn 5 this year
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 4, 2025
1 day ago
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.