Mobile Internet use reaches critical mass

By Nick Mansell on Fri 11 July 2008

N95Remember those Cellnet virtual surfer ads that heralded the 'WAP' age? It seems it finally could be upon us. Now rebranded as the 'mobile web' (wireless application protocol not catchy enough for you?) a new survey has found a 'critical mass' are now using it.

Analysts, Nielsen Mobile, found people in the UK were the second biggest users of Internet services on their mobiles - with 13% of us calling ourselves 'active' users. Topping the table, though, was the US with 16% - surprising given its usual lag behind Europe and the Far East in mobile tech but possibly attributable to the popularity of the Blackberry and of course the iPhone.

The survey found that 82% of iPhone owners got online with their phones, "making them five times as likely to do so as the average mobile consumer". Here in the UK the Nokia N95 was the most popular for accessing the web.

So what benefits will reaching this 'critical mass' bring us? More ads, apparently. Nielsen concludes: "We believe mobile Internet has reached a critical mass as an advertising medium in the US... This provides scalable marketing potential with demographic breadth." Pop ups on our phones? We can't wait.

[BBC]

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