Did you know
that mobile web usage is growing at a rate eight
times faster than the original desktop web? In the first 2 years after its
introduction in 1994, AOL v2.0 had reached 7 million customers. In the first 2
years after their introduction in 2007, iPhone + iTouch reached 57 million
users. In the last three years, Apple
has sold more than 51 million iPhones alone. It has been predicted that
mobile browsing will outpace desk-top based browsing within three
to five
years.
Other mobile
platforms are making strong showings as well. In Q1 of 2010, Google’s Android
mobile platform sold over 5 million devices worldwide. In May of 2010, there
were 100,000
Android devices activated every day. RIM’s Blackberry devices continues to
dominate the business world with over 10 million devices sold worldwide in that
same quarter (Gartner)
. In the US, smartphone penetration is now 19% of all cell phone sales, a total
of 45 million smartphones (comScore).
Worldwide, there were nearly 3 million smartphones sold
every day in Q1 of 2010.
EMarketer predicts
that the number of US mobile users accessing the internet will jump from 73.7m
in 2009 to 134.3 million in 2013.
In 2009 there
were more than 1.6 billion mobile devices worldwide with access to the internet.
By 2013 that
number is expected to rise to 2.7 billion.
It’s
estimated that smartphone
sales will surpass worldwide PC sales by the end of 2011.
What Do People Do on the
Mobile Web?
The most popular activities of mobile Internet users are: using
search engines, reading news and sport information, downloading music and
videos, and sending/receiving email and instant messages. (CNET). Over the next four years, International
Data Corporation (IDC) predicts the fasted growing activities will be purchasing,
social networking and blogging. Other
key drivers for mobile include money transfer, location based services,
mobile health monitoring, and advertising.
The biggest change
in mobile internet use has been a shift from mobile internet use as an
occasional activity to it being a daily part of our lives. According to PEW
From December 2007 to April 2009, the number of Americans who had used a cell
phone to access the internet for email, IM or seeking information has increased
from 24% to 32%, or nearly one-third. Almost one-fifth (19%) of Americans use
the mobile internet on a daily basis, up from the 11% in December 2007, a growth
of 73% in 16 months.
Who Is Using the Mobile Web?
Mobile internet users are not just geeks and early adopters
anymore. Mobile access is also bringing the internet to groups who had little
access to the traditional desktop internet in the past. Only one third of
adults had online access and a desktop PC in 1998. Back then, the average price
for a desktop computer was $1800. Due to the low initial cost of cell phone ownership
($0 to around $200 in initial costs), mobile internet users include groups that
had previously lagged in internet adoption. 56% of Americans have accessed the
internet using a mobile device. (PEW).
Conclusion
The future of the mobile web is coming faster than we know.
Millions of internet ready mobile devices are being sold every day and will
surpass desktop sales and usage soon. Although email and text-messaging are
still primary mobile tasks, search, shopping and social networking activity are
increasing quickly. And, more and more people are using the mobile web on a
daily basis.
If you are wondering if people are coming to you site using a
mobile device, the answer is probably “yes”. Now ask yourself, “What kind of experience
are mobile users having on my site”?
So how well does your site currently perform on a mobile device? Try these tools:
http://ready.mobi
http://testiphone.com
http://na.blackberry.com/eng/developers/resources/simulators.jsp
Thanks to Associations Now magazine for sharing this list in their June 2010 issue.
Posted by: Rick Johnston | 07/12/2010 at 01:09 PM