Apple IPhone Shames Smartphones

IPhone users lead the way in mobile Web browsing, says a new report by comScore that claims that more than 80 percent of iPhone users in France, Germany and the U.K. use the device to browse news and information on the mobile web, compared to 32 percent of other smartphone users.

ComScore M:Metrics confirms that even on the slower 2.5G mobile (EDGE) network, the iPhone has increased mobile internet consumption by a factor of 13 times in the case of a category such as social networking sites.

The study also found that 42 percent of iPhone users visited a social networking site on their device in May compared to the market average of 3 percent and 10 percent of smartphone owners.

Email is another popular feature, with nearly 70 percent of iPhone users sending and receiving email with the device, compared to just 26 percent among other smartphones users and 7.6 percent of the mobile phone market overall.

Music

The iPhone also led the way on smartphone music usage, with 70 percent using the iPhone as an iPod against just 32.5 percent of rival smartphone using their device to listen to music.

And twice as many iPhone users watched mobile TV and movies on their phones.

"Our data confirm that the iPhone and its requisite data plan have succeeded in drawing consumers to the mobile web," said Paul Goode, senior analyst, comScore M:Metrics.

"Even without 3G networking, users are happy to browse and consume as much content as they can, and as soon as the data speeds improve, these figures will likely continue to increase."

The gap between the iPhone and its competitors is sure to grow with the launch of the iPhone 3G today, says comScore, whose data states that the U.K. has 3G penetration at 26 percent, Germany at 23 percent and France at 17 percent.

ComScore M:Metrics also found that while smartphones are adopted by a higher proportion of men than mobile phones overall, iPhones have an even stronger skew to men in the U.K. and Germany. In the U.K. for example, 75 percent of iPhone users are male, while men account for about 68 percent of smartphone users. In contrast, in France, 67 percent of iPhone users are men compared to a higher 71 percent of smartphone users.

"It is worth noting that the Nokia N95 8GB with high speed 3G and significant handset subsidies now has over twice as many users as the iPhone across the U.K., Germany and France," observed Goode.

"Yet the iPhone, despite its small user-base, is already in the top 10 handsets for online browsing in the UK and in the top 5 in France and Germany. It is giving devices like Nokia's N Series and Sony Ericsson K and W Series a definite run for their money."