Retrevo: 20 Percent of iPhone Users Watch Porn on Device

SUNNYVALE, Calif.—The ongoing Gadgetology Study by analytics company Retrevo recently took a look at the differences between iPhone and Blackberry users, with findings that resulted in what one headline called “porn shock” for the Apple crowd. Among other things, the study—which used a sample pool of 445 iPhone and BlackBerry owners distributed across gender, age, income and location in the United States—found that 20 percent of iPhone use the device frequently to watch porn.

What is particularly interesting about that number—aside from the fact that it seems very low—is that, according to the study, more women than men use the iPhone by a margin of 53 percent to 47 percent. With Blackberries, it is the reverse; 59 percent of respondents who use them were men, and only 12 percent of Blackberry users reported using the phone frequently to watch porn. These results imply, but do not prove, that a significant number of female iPhone owners use it to watch porn, and that neither gender, if they are Blackberry users, particularly likes using the device for that purpose.

However, iPhone users also recorded higher numbers that their Blackberry-using counterparts for each of the other activities—including to watch TV or videos, to check news and sports or to text—that they were queried about, which simply implies that iPhone owners use their devices for more entertainment-oriented reasons than the others. That insight is not terribly surprising when one considers that Blackberries are the chosen device for professionals across a number of industries.

Still, the Retrevo comparison leaves the distinct impression that, generally speaking, iPhone users are a snobbish lot, to say the least.

On the Retrevo blog, Wendy notes that iPhone owners admit that “cool gadgets” make a person more attractive “in fact, three times more than they find a college degree attractive. Those sensible BlackBerry owners, on the other hand, have that priority reversed. By the way, if you’re looking to hook up with a smart phone owner, you better have the latest gadgets as 34 percent of iPhone owners and 29 percent of BlackBerry owners think old gadgets on a potential partner are a turn off.”

They also found that iPhone owners are more likely to break up with someone electronically and also rated themselves higher as intellectuals, extroverts and media buffs than did BlackBerry owners.

Ed. Note: The writer of this article is a Blackberry user who admits to having a severe case of iPhone envy.