16.7 million U.S. mobile subscribers (7.1% of the U.S. population) used location-based “check-in” services in March according to market research firm ComScore Inc., with 12.7 million checking in from a smartphone, representing some 17.6% of the entire smartphone population.
Unsurprisingly, ComScore found that those using check-in services were avid social media users who also had a higher propensity for mobile media usage, including mobile shopping. More than 95% said they used their mobile browser or applications, while 62% accessed news on their phones. More than 40% admitted they accessed tech news on their devices.
The trendy check-in crowd was also categorized as likely to own both a smartphone and tablet, with 28% of the check-in crowd owning both.
Check-in services like Foursquare, Gowalla and Facebook Places proved especially attractive to those in the 25-34 age bracket, which made up 32.5% of all total users, followed by the younger 18-24 age bracket with 26%.
Full-time students represented a whopping 23.3% of check-iners, while 46.4% claimed to be employed full time. According to ComScore, both check-in service and smartphone users were more likely to be employed full time than overall mobile users.
Breaking it down by operating systems, ComScore said Google Inc.’s Android accounted for the largest share of check-in service users with 36.6%, while 33.7% did so from their Apple Inc. iPhone. Research In Motion Ltd.’s BlackBerry users accounted for 22% of those using check in services while Microsoft Corp., Palm Inc. and Symbian each accounted for less than 5%.
