Nokia found to make the most popular phones for internet access on the move.
Nokia found to make the most popular phones for internet access on the move.
Europeans are more likely than Americans to use their mobile phones for internet access, new research has claimed.
According to the comScore Mobile Tracking report, 29 per cent of European internet users in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK regularly access the web from their mobile phones, compared to only 19 per cent of individuals in the US.
Of the countries examined by comScore, the highest mobile web penetration is seen in both Germany and Italy (34 per cent for each), followed by France with 28 per cent, Spain with 26 per cent and the UK with 24 per cent. The US figure of 19 per cent is the lowest of the set.
The study also shows than men are more likely to access the web from their mobile phones than women. Across all six countries, although the internet penetration is split evenly between men and women, 55 per cent of those who access the web from their mobile phones are men.
According to the research, Nokia is the leading brand of phone for those who regularly access the mobile web across five of the six countries examined, capturing share ranging from 50 per cent in Italy to 22 per cent in France. Only in the US, where Motorola has the greatest share (26 per cent), is Nokia pushed into second place, with a 17 per cent share.
The major online portal sites were found to represent the most popular online destinations among mobile web surfers, with Google, Yahoo and MSN leading the way. However, the mobile websites set up by the phone operators, such as Vodafone, O2 and T-Mobile, are also proving attractive to mobile surfers, particularly in Europe.
"Three-quarters of American mobile web surfers access content from the leading online portals such as Google, Yahoo and MSN, compared to only 30 per cent of Europeans," said Bob Ivins, managing director of comScore Europe.
"In Europe, the mobile internet appears to mirror the dynamics of the fixed internet. Google remains strong but the other US-based portals achieve much lower penetration, facing stiff competition from local competitors – in this case the mobile providers – who have the structural advantage of a degree of control over the access point and interface from the mobile phone."