The iPhone is the most popular device for accessing news and information on the mobile Web, with 85% of iPhone users accessing news and information in the month of January, according to research from M:Metrics. Not less than 30.9% of iPhone owners watched mobile TV or video, versus a 4.6 market average, and more than double the rate for all smartphone users.
“The iPhone has certainly delivered on its hype,” said Mark Donovan, senior analyst, M:Metrics, in a prepared statement. “Beyond a doubt, this device is compelling consumers to interact with the mobile Web, delivering off-the-charts usage from everything to text messaging to mobile video.”
“This data indicates that the iPhone’s widgets are and effective means to drive mobile content consumption,” observed Donovan. “Two featured widgets, YouTube and Google Maps are extremely popular among iPhone users: 30.4% accessed YouTube and 36% used Google Maps. In comparison, only 1% of all mobile subscribers accessed YouTube and 2.6% checked out Google Maps.”
Although this report shows early findings, we believe it clearly indicates that an easy to understand user interface does help promoting new services. Of course , iPhone users are early adapters and more likely to try and use new technologies, but the device is so easy to use that it really does make a difference. Now, if Apple only could translate this to its Apple TV.
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Connected TV Forecasts NEW REPORT. The number of TV sets connected to the Internet will reach 551 million by 2016 for the 40 countries covered in this report from Digital TV Research, up from 124 million at end-2010. The report states that this translates to 20% of global TV sets by 2016, up from only 6% at end-2010. Published in November 2011, this 83-page PDF report is the most geographically comprehensive to ever be published.