Chances are if you’re using Ubuntu you’re a 25-35 year old male living in either the USA or Mexico.
At least, those are the findings from the recently-conducted ‘Ubuntu User Survey 2012’.
With a response rate of over 17,000, the survey will help Ubuntu developers better understand their user base.
For example, people in Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries are more interested in buying a pre-loaded Ubuntu device than those in English-speaking countries. Such a stat would be useful to Canonical and/or hardware manufacturers interested in launching Ubuntu-toting hardware.
But what else has the survey revealed?
The ‘average’ age of Ubuntu users is around 25- 35 years old.
And, sticking to the statistics drawn from the survey, are almost certainly male. The number of women who answered the survey was a sub-4% – a figure that looks lower than, in reality, it likely is.
It’s good news for Ubuntu One. Despite the cloud-storage service being in competition with titans like Dropbox, over 40% of Ubuntu users make use of it. Quite how many opt into to a paid plan was not part of the remit.
Age breakdown of responses show that the younger you are the more likely (statistically) you are to use it, too.
From Ubuntu’s line-up of burgeoning multi-device future it was Ubuntu for Android (57.4%) that registered the strongest ‘intention to use’. Ubuntu on tablets a reasonable 49.4%, and Ubuntu TV a sizeable (45.7%).
Sounds good – but is there demand? Only a lowly 0.1% of those filling in the survey had bought Ubuntu pre-installed on a device. That’s a very small slice of users, and one that, on the surface, doesn’t exactly scream ‘money to be made’ at potential manufacturers.
So another question was asked: “how likely are you to buy a new device with Ubuntu on it?”. The results this time are encouraging: –
The question of ‘What Other Operating Systems Do You Use?’ threw up a stat I wasn’t expecting (although i’ve never really thought about it): 75% of Ubuntu users also use Windows.
Before the results I genuinely wouldn’t have expected the stat to be that high – I mean, it’s rare to hear a good word said about Windows in the Linux community – but, in reality, the more I think about it the more reasonable it sounds: people use Windows at work, on other devices, for gaming, family PC, etc.
That, and the majority of Ubuntu’s users don’t care about the mythical and philosophical arguments surrounding Linux Vs. Microsoft.
But there is still bully for the Linux-obsessed: over 50% of ‘buntu users also use Android, compared to a pale 13.5% who use Apple’s iOS – a positive sign for Canonical’s plan to marry Ubuntu with Android on mobile devices.
Only 4.2% of respondents said they use no other OS listed in the question.
You can find the full breakdown of stats from the survey here, here and here.