Who’s browsing the mobile web the most? Apparently, iPhone and iPad owners are. According to end-of-the-month data from statistics provider NetMarketShare, iOS users ended up with a 52% market share of mobile web browsing in December 2011. More simply put, that means that over half of the mobile web browsing last month took place on an iOS device.
Android, meanwhile, had a 16.2% share, behind Java ME at 21.27%, which fell into second place.
Trailing the top three were Symbian (5.76%), BlackBerry (3.51%) and the mysterious “Other” (1.07%) which is where Windows Phone must be hiding.
iOS saw the highest numbers in October, when it reached 61.5%, but has fallen slightly since.
Of course, it may not be fair to compare iOS directly with the other mobile platforms, given that the iPad accounts for a good bit of Apple’s market share in this slice of mobile data. But even when the iPad is excluded, the iPhone still holds its own with a 25.24% showing. The iPad is at 24.53% and the iPod Touch accounts for 2.32%.
Android, when divvied up by versions, sees 8.92% for Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) and 4.10% for Android 2.2% (Froyo). Where are the newer versions? Barely there: Android 3.x is just a little over a 1% share and Android 4.x is a tiny 0.05%.
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This data may seem a little odd, given Android’s marketshare gains, both in the U.S. and elsewhere, so it could be a reflection on the service’s methodology. But NetMarketShare is fairly reliable, so it could also be a reflection of the varying habits of iOS and Android users in general.
Hat tip: MobileMarketingWatch
