Asia Leads the Way with Mobile Web Usage
Mobile Web usage is more popular in developing nations than it is in developed nations, according to data found by Pingdom via StatCounter. It appears that Opera has a healthy lead in the mobile browser market worldwide.
According to StatCounter Global Stats, in October, Asia led the way with Web usage from mobile devices with 6.10 percent, followed by Africa with 5.81 percent, North America with 4.71 percent, Oceania/Australia with 2.88 percent, Europe with 1.81 percent and South America with 1.46 percent.
“It is a bit ironic that mobile web usage is, relatively speaking, lower in Europe and North America than in much of Asia and Africa,” notes Pingdom in a blog post. “At least when you consider all the attention that Android, iPhone, and smartphones in general are getting over here.”
The company also notes that, according to StatCounter, mobile accounts for 3.81 percent of Web usage worldwide.
Pingdom highlights some standout countries, including the African nations of Chad with mobile Web usage of nearly 29 percent, Nigeria with more than 25 percent and Sudan with more than 22 percent.
Nokia phones were the most popular among countries with high levels of mobile Web usage.
The reason for these skewed figures toward developing countries is economics, according to Pingdom. “A large portion of the population won’t have access to the means needed for a computer and Internet access. A relatively cheap mobile phone (most often from Nokia, as we have seen) will then be a much more realistic option, and it therefore becomes the way to reach the Web for many. It’s either that or no web access at all, so it’s a matter of necessity.”
According to StatCounter, the most popular mobile browser in the U.S. in October was the BlackBerry browser with 31.74 percent of the market. It was followed by the iPhone with 25.04 percent, Android with 23 percent and iPod Touch with 10.02 percent.
On a worldwide scale, Opera topped the list in October with 24.53 percent of the market, followed by BlackBerry with 17.96 percent, iPhone with 16.82 percent, Nokia with 16.44 percent and Android with 10.33 percent.
According to comScore, 35.1 percent of mobile subscribers in the U.S. used a browser as a form of mobile content usage in September, up 2.2 percentage points from 32.9 percent in June.
Sources:</strong
http://royal.pingdom.com/2010/11/23/mobile-web-usage-highest-in-asia-and-africa/
http://gs.statcounter.com/#mobile_browser-ww-monthly-200911-201010
