Smartphone sales are rising worldwide, and mobile internet usage is increasing as a result. Yet most developed countries lag behind in terms of the share of mobile internet users. That emerges from research by market analyst Royal Pingdom.
The figures on which the market researcher bases its findings come from StatCounter and represent the average for each continent. Usage naturally varies from country to country, but the overall trend is clear.
Europe lags behind
According to StatCounter, mobile traffic accounted for 3.81% of total internet usage worldwide in October. In Africa it was 5.81% and in Asia even 6.10%. Europe lags behind at 1.81%, while North America performs above average at 4.71%.
Several African countries exceed twenty percent. The leader is Chad with 29%, Nigeria reaches 25% and Sudan 22%. Asian (developing) countries such as Indonesia, Cambodia, Turkmenistan and Bangladesh, each at around 15%, push Asia’s average upward.
Nokia dominates
Strikingly, in these countries Nokia is the clear market leader. In some cases, smartphones with Symbian OS generate more than 90% of national mobile internet traffic. In the other countries, this ranges between 60% and 80%.
Android handsets, iPhones and BlackBerrys account for only a fraction of the smartphone market. The only exception is Indonesia, where RIM holds 31% of the market and is thus the most popular smartphone maker after Nokia.
Cause
According to Royal Pingdom, the reason for these notable differences is that many Africans and Asians do not have access to the internet via a computer. In addition, Nokia devices are relatively inexpensive.