iPhone Dominates Mobile Web Traffic Apple's smartphone has a commanding lead in mobile Web traffic, but Android is steadily gaining market share. By Marin Perez InformationWeek March 2, 2009 02:43 PM Apple's iPhone 3G had more than 67% of all mobile Web searches for the month of February, according to a new report from Net Applications. The report, which measures the market share for mobile browsers capable of rendering HTML pages and JavaScript, said Android and BlackBerry also are rapidly gaining market share. But this doesn't mean that the iPhone's Web browsing share is declining because the overall market is growing, Net Applications said. Apple's smartphone has been a popular Web-browsing device since its introduction about two years ago because of its large screen and browser. Many cell phone users were used to stripped-down WAP versions of Web sites, but the WebKit-based mobile Safari offered a full, rich HTML experience. Additionally, the multitouch interface made zooming and panning easier than previous browsers. The iPhone 3G has led to even more mobile Web surfing, as Apple claimed the boosted connectivity was nearly twice as fast as the EDGE connection. Companies like Amazon.com and Facebook noticed this increase of mobile surfing and have created mobile sites that are specifically tailored for the iPhone. The second-largest platform for mobile surfing was Sun Microsystems (NSDQ: JAVA)' Java ME, which has a very large installed base on a variety of phones, including entry-level devices and smartphones. Browsers like Opera Mini, which has more than 20 million users, are based on Java ME. Google (NSDQ: GOOG)'s Android operating system already has 6.2% of the market, which is pretty good considering the T-Mobile G1 was released last October. This may not be much of a surprise because the open source Android has deep hooks into Google's Web application services, and it was designed to be constantly connected to the Internet. Despite a sizable user base, Research In Motion (NSDQ: RIMM)'s BlackBerry platform only had about 2.2% of the market. This is primarily because most BlackBerrys have a WAP-based browser, but RIM is arming handsets like the Bold and Storm with full HTML browsers. SW
It is quite clear to anyone who has used both, that the iPhone's HTML browser is heads above the BlackBerry WAP browser. But I think that viewing some email on the iPhone is much better than the Blackberry too. I get news reports from the NPR stations sent via email. I see the full HTML email (pictures, etc), embedded in the iPhone email application. However those emails always have this little phrase in the first line: "BlackBerry user? Trouble reading this e-mail? View it as a Web page. " I think the BB excels for the email user in organization, but not in displays (perhaps excluding the Bold).
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.0) BlackBerry8100/4.2.1 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/100) HTML email wan't part of the BB until OS4.5 last year unless you bought an add on. It is a weak spot and the built in browser is weak for all but the bold and storm. Nothing like the iphone or G1. The new browser in the newer OS seems better but still short.
But luckily, one can add Opera Mini (now at version 4.2) to the Blackberry. I did this on both the 8700 and 8800 series devices and was very happy. I never used the built-in browser unless some other app launched it. In the study that started the thread, use of Opera on a Blackberry would be counted differently than use of the built-in browser. SW
Yeah, I used Opera Mini on my Nokia 6131. It was good, but not great. I know it's not a smart phone, but it handles 4.0 Mini. The browser experience is partly the software and the UI on the phone. This is where the 3G iPhone excels on both points. I can't speak about the G1. I need to stop in a store and run it through the paces.
I have always liked the Opera Mini browser, but I also noticed for some odd reason the accelerometer does not work on my SE when I use Opera Mini.
I think you'll find them pretty similar, as they are both based on WebKit. The page rendering should be nearly identical. The active display area has a similar size and is the same resolution. The G1 has a touchscreen, but not some of the (patented) iPhone multitouch gestures. You can zoom in/out smoothly, however, using a +/- control that appears when you hold your finger on the screen. Oddly, the G1 browser does not redraw the screen in response to tilting the phone. It only switches from portrait to landscape mode when you slide it open to reveal the keyboard. I'm still not sure why they made this choice. Needless to say, even though I found Opera Mini to be a necessity on the Blackberry, and Opera is available for the G1, I'm not rushing to download it. The G1 browser is fine, and a core feature of this phone. SW
I agree, and I have it too. But I don't think many people take the time, or are even aware of it. Just like IE still controls 70% of the browser share on desktops, 3 or 4 years after Firefox first arrived.
