iPhone driving mobile web usage

Six months after its US launch, analysts say the Apple iPhone has become the most popular mobile device for accessing news and information on the web.

Figures released this week suggest that 85 per cent of the 4 million or so American iPhone owners used their device to surf the internet during the month of January.

Research firm M:Metrics also found that a sizeable 30.9 per cent of US iPhone owners watched mobile TV or video, versus a 4.6 per cent market average, and more than double the rate for smartphone users.

Usage of social networking is also popular among iPhone users, with 49.7 per cent accessing a social networking site in January - a figure nearly twelve times the market average. Of these, around 20 per cent of iPhone owners accessed Facebook.

"The iPhone has certainly delivered on its hype," said Mark Donovan, senior analyst at M:Metrics. "Beyond a doubt, this device is compelling consumers to interact with the mobile Web, delivering off-the-charts usage from everything to text messaging to mobile video."

Donovan said that his research indicates that the iPhone's widgets are and effective means to drive mobile content consumption. Two featured widgets, YouTube and Google Maps, which both come preloaded on the device, are extremely popular.

Among iPhone users, 30.4 per cent accessed YouTube and 36 per cent used Google Maps, compared to the 1 per cent of all mobile subscribers who accessed YouTube and 2.6 per cent which checked out Google Maps.

Demonstrating the multifunctional personality of the device, M:Metrics estimates that 74.1 per cent of US iPhone owners listened to music on their device, compared to 6.7 per cent of the total mobile audience.

M:Metrics believes that the demographic composition of iPhone users is very similar to the demographics of other smartphone owners in that they are more likely to be male, aged between 25-34, earn more that $100,000 and have a college degree.

"While the demographics of iPhone users are very similar to all smartphone owners, the iPhone is outpacing other smartphones in driving mobile content consumption by a significant margin," said Donovan. "In addition to the attributes of the device itself, another important factor to consider is the fact that all iPhones on AT&T are attached to an unlimited data plan. Our data shows that once the fear of surprise data charges is eliminated, mobile content consumption increases dramatically, regardless of device."

However, telecoms.com has also heard that its wifi, not cellular, that is driving heavy mobile internet usage on the iPhone. One of the biggest criticisms of the device, especially in Europe where 3G coverage is prevalent, is that its EDGE radio does not make for good surfing.

Selina Lo, president and CEO of Californian wifi kit vendor, Ruckus Wireless, recently told telecoms.com that the popularity of wifi-enabled gadgets like the iPhone was the main reason carriers were looking at upgrading their wifi infrastructure.

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