iPhone tops mobile browsing charts

Interface driving usage?

Posted in Mobile, 4th December 2007 16:03 GMT

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Figures from Net Applications showing that since it was launched the iPhone has topped the charts amongst mobile browsers, with Symbian S60 trailing far behind.

Desktop operating systems, unsurprisingly, occupy the top positions in the chart of web usage, but the iPhone still manages a respectable 0.09 per cent of all browsing, just beating Windows Mobile at 0.06 per cent while S60 can only manage 0.01 per cent: less than the ageing Windows '95 which managed twice that figure.

Apple has made much of the iPhone's internet capabilities, trotting out the oft-repeated claim of offering the whole internet, this time thanks to finger-driven scrolling and a two-fingered zoom function.

Browsing on the iPhone is, basically, better than browsing on devices with a smaller screen, but not as good as those with a larger one.

More likely the figures are driven by Apple's marketing, which has been telling everyone how great browsing on the iPhone is, and the fact that those buying an iPhone are the kind of people likely to try using the internet on the move.

It will be interesting to see if those figures are maintained as the novelty wears off, or if Apple's marketing will drive people to want to use the internet on the move, and demand suitable tariffs from their network operators. ®

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