Comments on: Proof Apple iPhone users can’t get enough mobile content

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 19:27:20 +0000

@HeavyLight: Spot on. iPhone users have the ‘perfect browsing storm’ of free data and the best UI.

…..but I wonder how many of those visits are coming from WiFi as opposed to 2G – probably a very large % are WiFi. Yes, iPhoners get WiFi in their bundle, but you need to be in a WiFi destination like Star*ucks. Ergh. Over 70% of mobile usage occurs in the home or workplace, and I’ve seen nowt to challange that assumption for the iPhone.

Q: is this M:Metrics study based on Google analytics of browser UAS hitting HTTP servers, with an assumption that the data channel for a mobile browser must be a mobile channel?

In which case, the cost element doesn’t quite stack up. Non-O2/AT&T iPhoners (about a million of us approx. & counting) are definitely not ‘forced’ to buy any package. You could have an iPhone, rack up GB of browsing per month, and never touch a single MNO data packet. In fact, that must be (sticks neck out) how the vast majority of iPhone browsing is done – at home or work, on free WiFi.

By: HeavyLight

HeavyLight — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 15:50:50 +0000

@Giff — Sure, iPhone users are only browsing this much because it’s effectively free.
But I’m sure they wouldn’t have taken to it so enthusiastically if the same deal had been on a shitty phone with a tiny display and an unfathomable interface.

If Apple have ‘broken’ US reluctance to explore the mobile internet, I don’t care what inclusive deal it took — it’s good news for the industry worldwide.

HeavyLight’s last blog post..Whatleydude’s N95 saga: VF comes out shining!

By: Giff Gfroerer, i2SMS

Giff Gfroerer, i2SMS — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 12:36:48 +0000

Remember, iPhone users are browsing the web at this rate over other browser-enabled phones because iPhone users are forced to also buy the data package allowing for the ability to surf the mobile web. When people pay for things, they generally use them. Here, Apple not only made it easy, but they found a way to drive adoption by pushing consumers to try the service.

By: HeavyLight

HeavyLight — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 10:55:28 +0000

The Mippin blog has some interesting figures comparing the manufacturers of Mippin users' phones with the proportion of repeat site visits. I find it intriguing that LG users make up only 8% of Mippin's UK audience but are the most "repeating active users" whereas Nokia users return to the site least often. (Are all LG phones touch-sensitive? As good as the iPhone?) LIkewise in the US, more Motorola users visit Mippin than any other manufacturer but make far fewer return visits than iPhone users, who are top in the persistence (or is that loyalty?) stakes. It's great that the iPhone is driving mobile internet usage (primarily so far in the US) but I'm looking forward to a head-to-head contest between S60 Touch and Android towards the end of the year! HeavyLight's last blog post..Whatleydude's N95 saga: VF comes out shining!