While mobile internet usage in developed regions continues to grow, Europe dramatically lags behind Japan and the US in consumer uptake.
According to comScore, a staggering 75 per cent of mobile phones in Japan are used for accessing the web, while nearly 44 per cent of US residents use a handset to access 'connected media'--a cover-all term that includes accessing web pages through a browser, applications that connect to a network or content that has been downloaded.
Meanwhile, only 38.5 per cent of Europeans use the phone to do likewise, but while they seem reluctant in this area, they lead the way with text messaging. Over 81 per cent of Europeans send SMSs compared to 66.8 per cent in the US and 40.1 per cent in Japan.
Mark Donovan, comScore senior VP of mobile, said that while mobile media usage continues to accelerate around the globe, significantly different patterns are occurring.
"As we look across markets, dramatic differences in mobile media consumption, brand adoption and user behaviour become evident," said Donovan. "These differences are even more pronounced than they are for PC-based internet usage due to the complex nature of mobile--including various device capabilities, operating systems and methods of accessing content."
Another study into mobile search traffic claims that the UK operators have seen a 247 per cent increase over the past year, according to the digital agency Tamar. However, this huge surge in mobile data traffic still amounts for only 3 per cent of all internet use.
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