BARCELONA, SPAIN -- (Marketwire) -- 02/25/13 -- MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS -- Apigee, the API company, today announced the findings of its 2013 Mobile App Behavior survey of over 760 smartphone owners across France, Germany, Spain, the U.K. and U.S., conducted online in February by uSamp. The survey, which was aimed at revealing mobile app dependency, behavior and future desires across a variety of countries, found that fully 82% of those surveyed believe there are critical apps they can't go without for even a day, including email (57%), Facebook (41%) and alarm clock apps (31%). Spain ranked as the most app-reliant country with 93% saying they can't go one complete day; while half (50%) of U.S. residents saying they couldn't last just four hours without apps. And the amount of apps people say they use each day is significant: 72% say they use as many as 10 apps per day, and 2% in the global survey even claim they use more than 50 apps per day.

But the study probed deeper at the reactions people have when actually confronted with losing the apps they have come to rely on, and many people around the world report basic things they would be unable to do without apps, including:

• Check email - 48%
• Wake up in the morning - 32%
• Feel happy - 23%
• Navigate to work - 20%
• Maintain my relationship - 19%
• Find dates - 13%
• Order dinner - 12%
• Impress people - 10%

But the feeling of app dependency varies globally. Fully 18% of the French say they could not order dinner without an app, while people in America (16%) and the UK (8%) feel more app independent in that area. 23% in Spain say they couldn't find a date without apps, but only 5% of Americans believe they would lose this ability. On giving up apps forever, 85% admit they would actually rather give up drinking water than delete all of their apps, while a further 9% say it would be easier for them to invent a new source of energy than delete all of the apps on their smartphones.

A look at global behavior around the usage of apps revealed variations on opinions of children with smartphones, drivers and mobile platform loyalty.

When asked the age at which it's appropriate for a child to receive their first smartphone, 75% say somewhere between the ages of 12 and 16. However, 2% of Germans say a one-year-old child should have a smartphone, 8% of Americans say the right age is 10, and 6% of people in the U.S. and Spain say parents should wait until kids reach the age of 18 before giving them their first smartphone.

53% of drivers across the world admit to using apps on their smartphone while behind the wheel. Some countries have made more headway than others at curbing this behavior, but the numbers of respondents saying they do this is consistently high: Germany (64%), France (61%), Spain (56%), U.S. (49%) and UK (30%).

Interestingly, "pride" emerged as the top reason that people stay with the mobile platform of their choice. Americans emerged as the most proud of their chosen operating system at a surprising 37%. However, overall iPhone, Android, Blackberry and Windows users say it's pride that keeps them from switching (29%), followed by:

• Lack of apps on other platforms - 24%
• Lack of desire to learn a new type of phone - 23%
• Fear of needing to re-enter all contacts and phone numbers - 22%

Looking ahead, the number one app capability that respondents wish they had is remote control of things in the home, such as lights, air conditioning, locks and garage doors (46%), followed by:

• Tracking energy usage in the home - 38%
• Remote car start - 34%
• Apps that can charge purchases directly to a mobile phone bill - 21%

Americans' desire for remote control of the home was the strongest at 61%, while Germany and France only clocked in at 34%.

"The findings of the study show that people all over the world are becoming increasingly intertwined with their mobile apps and are demanding more from them," said Chet Kapoor, Apigee CEO. "Apps are becoming transformative to everything we do, but an app is only as good as its APIs. Apigee's API platform helps build powerful digital ecosystems that let us all shop, communicate and connect through apps on trillions of mobile devices."

Kapoor will be participating in a keynote address, "Mobile as a Platform for Innovation," at Mobile World Congress this week on Thursday, February 28 at 9:30am.

About Apigee

Apigee is the leading provider of API technology and services for enterprises and developers. Hundreds of companies including Walgreens, Bechtel, eBay, Pearson, and Gilt Groupe as well as tens of thousands of developers use Apigee to simplify the delivery, management and analysis of APIs and apps. Apigee's global headquarters are in Palo Alto, California, and it also has offices in Austin, Texas; Bangalore, India and London. Learn more at www.apigee.com.

Survey Methodology

The survey was conducted by uSamp (uSamp.com), the Answer Network, a premier provider of technology and survey respondents used to obtain consumer and business insights. The survey was conducted online in February 2013 on behalf of Apigee and asked 762 respondents across the U.S., UK, Germany, France and Spain to provide insight, preferences and feedback on the subject of mobile apps.

Apigee is a registered trademark in the U.S. Other product or company names mentioned may be trademarks or trade names of their respective companies.

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