Bits: IPhone Users Love That Mobile Web

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By Brad Stone

The last thing anyone wants to do is to give iPhone users another chance to crow about their phone’s slick interface and seamless connection to the Web. But, until now, little was known about the media habits of iPhone users and how they have diverged from the activities of mere mortals who own run-of-the mill smartphones and regular mobile phones.

Tuesday, M:Metrics, a measurement firm that studies mobile media, has released a survey of iPhone users six months after the device was released to long lines and nearly unending fanfare.

The results, from a January survey of more than 10,000 adults, are somewhat dramatic. 84.8 percent of iPhone users report accessing news and information from the hand-held device. That compares to 13.1 percent of the overall mobile phone market and 58.2 percent of total smartphone owners †which include those poor saps with Blackberries and devices that run Windows.

The study found that 58.6 percent of iPhone users visited a search engine on their phone, compared to 37 percent of smartphone users in general and a scant 6.1 percent of mobile phone users.

The market for mobile video once seemed like a non-starter in the United States. Well, 30.9 percent of iPhone users have tuned into mobile TV or a video clip from their phone, more than double the percentage that have watched on a smartphone.

Finally, 74.1 percent of iPhone users listen to music on their iTunes-equipped device. Only 27.9 percent of smartphone users listen to music on their phone and 6.7 percent of the overall mobile-phone-toting public listens to music on their mobile device.

Mark Donovan, an analyst at M:Metrics, says a major factor in the iPhone’s success as a media platform can be credited to AT&T and its unlimited data plan for iPhone users. “Once you take away the uncertainty of data charging, you really incentive people to use the device,” he said.

But then he gushes about the iPhone, sounding a lot like another died-in-the-wool iPhone convert (which, he concedes, he is.) “Apple really made a device that is Internet-centric and really fits the kind of digital lifestyle that a lot of people who are jacked into the Internet all the time are used to,” he said. “They did a great job of crushing some of the sweet spots of mobile Internet usage.”

Interesting article. Lousy, sensationalist title. So the iPhone lets folk use the web like they use it at their desktop. There have been flaws with web access using previously available phones & plans. Can’t the headline say that?

†Posted by R Brown

@R Brown It does say that. It says the iPhone bypasses those horrible flaws, and people who have the iPhone love to use the web. Ever try to access and then USE the web on a Treo or Blackberry or Moto Q? Yuck!!

†Posted by John

One other advantage the iphone has over many other phones (I don’t own an iphone) is the ability to listen to the music via normal earbuds. My mobile pda, with music capability does not offer this option and therefor my only option to privately listen to music is by purchasing a $100 bluetooth headset!! How hard would it be to add a jack for a headset??

†Posted by david

As an Iphone user, i want to make one aspect clear. The only reason I use the data is because I was forced to get it with the contract when I purchased the Iphone. I can happily do without the data plan; but since I DO pay for it, i figure why not use it as much as I can.

†Posted by Robert from NYC

When the iPhone can work with a Slingbox, then it will be a true media phone.

†Posted by Chris S

Better yet, buy an Ipod Touch and skip lousy AT&T coverage. Same web browser without monthly charges for poor service.

†Posted by Jake

To #2:

Ever try to browse the New York Times on your iPhone over a pokey EDGE network? Yuck.

†Posted by ventivent

Robert, I think you can now drop your data plan. Just FYI.

That little piece aside, I love my iphone. Although it is a little bit of a conversation-ender. Whenever you are out with a group and people begin to argue over something, someone pulls out an iphone and ends the debate by finding the answer on the web.

†Posted by Jessica

I absolutely love the web capability. Having the ability to google a restaurant or find a phone number or check the weather, without finding a computer, such as, in the middle of the street, is a time-saver. I don’t mind the extra $20/ month, and frankly, I can’t believe that people would complain about an extra $20/ month for something so convenient. I think an iPhone without the web and other data is just a regular old-school phone, so I’m not really sure why someone would buy an iPhone and hate its data features. For the on-screen keypad?

†Posted by M Smith

As an iPhone user, I do love the phone. however, this study s skewed becuase the people who buy and use iPhone users are very different from the corporate users who buy blackberry and windows mobile phones. iPhone users are predominantly consumers, not corporate users. notice that this study didnt talk about what % of iPhone users get their corp emails on iPhones vs. other smart phones users. That would have highlighted the very different nature of buyers who use iPhones vs. other smart phones.

†Posted by sonny

There are two reasons why I use the mobile web on my iPhone: a) The unlimited data plan and b) The screen real estate afforded by the iPhone which actually makes it readable. Not to mention the zoom and tilt features but that would piss off the Crackberry fans too much …

To paraphrase the famous quote, the future of mobile is here, it’s just not evenly distributed (yet).

†Posted by Peter from Bay Area

News blog are especially helpful in small screen web environs like the iPhone. Biggest change for me is the electronic calendar - didn’t think I’d ever give up my pocket Week-at-a-Glance! Easy to use, a real comfort to sync and know i have a backup of calendar info.

†Posted by Jim

Count your lucky stars, gringos. We here in Canada can’t get iPhones because the local telecom monopoly has no intention of giving anyone a break on its outrageously expensive data plan. Conversely, the iPhone can be seen as a way that (with a little muscle from Apple), the telecoms have been forced to open up the mobile age to all of us - which is to say all of you. And get don’t get me started on TiVo.

†Posted by Seth Feldman

I had a perfectly good smartphone, but broke down and bought an iPhone, justifying it to myself as a “Mac user.” Yes, I’m happy with it — but how can I stop drinking the Apple Kool-Aid?

†Posted by Nandomark

Why would Robert from NYC want to have an iPhone if he didn’t want to use data access? Beats me! He might just as well have got an ordinary phone. Of course, it wouldn’t look as good…

†Posted by Michael

In most places the ATT data network is just fast enough to be tolerable if one really, really can’t wait to get the data. And that’s with “5 bars”. So while nearly everyone who owns an iphone will have accessed news, etc., I know of no one who is actually happy with current data transfer rates.

Yes, transfer is unlimited, but patience certainly is not - and that is the limiting factor, perhaps by design. I guess we have to wait through this monopoly phase before we can get reasonable service.

†Posted by Kilndown Flimwell

It’s not a phone. It’s a laptop in your pocket. And a damn cheap one at that.

†Posted by Josh

Forget EDGE speeds- it’s all about wifi access. EDGE is only for emergencies.

I don’t own a television or a radio, but I regularly watch tv and stream radio on my iPhone. I also stream my entire iTunes library from my computer to my phone, thin-client fashion, on the web. I receive company email on my phone, send documents, etc.- in short, do everything a blackberry owner does, plus a lot more. And yes, I read this article and responded to it on my iPhone.

†Posted by Peter Baldwin

you know what else is awesome? the revenue it generates for ATT and Apple once you travel outside of the country. Check the stocks, weather, emails with full HTML graphics, web, etc… 3 days in Canada last year ended up costing me approx $400. By the way if I had downloaded a GB of data (I know it’s a lot) I would have paid more than $10000. This was before you could switch off the data when you roam.

†Posted by jonathan

People who dismiss Blackberry usage or Win MObile usage as low because they are ‘corporate’ are just wrong. I have used a palm, a handspring, a blackberry and a Win CE - surfing the web on those phones is like deciding whether you want to go for a drive during a snowstorm - you don’t do it unless you absolutely have to. The iPhone makes it easy and you will just randomly look up stuff as you think about it … as web surfing should be.

As for anyone holding out because it’s AT&T, if the choice is waiting :30 seconds for AT&T or waiting 5 years and :30 seconds to use an iphone, you’re foolish to wait 5 years. AT&T is not great but I’ll take not great over no iphone anyday and any minute … so in that sense, I am satisfied and happy - unless of course you’re the type who will suffer for 5 years just to prove a point, hey good luck with that.

†Posted by jbelkin

After years of reading browsing the web on my old Samsung phone, I broke down too and ordered an iPhone yesterday. Everyone I know who owns one (about 12 people) loves it. It’s rare that you see a gadget receive such universal acclaim from both geeks and regular joes.

†Posted by Lou

Of the 84.8% that reported accessing news and information from the iPhone, how many actually continued using this feature after it took them minutes to download a page via the Edge network? The web capabilities are great on a WiFi network, but my experience on the Edge network has been horrible at best.

†Posted by Wai

I’m reading this on my iPhone while listening to my playlists. The phone has it’s problems (forwarding texts?!)but it is remarkably easy to use the media functions.

†Posted by Krismet

#6: yes, I read the NYT (and other sites) over EDGE all the time. What’s the big deal? If loading is slow, you can put your iPhone in your pocket and look around while you wait for the page to load.

Slow access is better than no access. And it’s not really that slow most of the time.

†Posted by mannyv

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