Global mobile Internet consumption hits 51.3 percent

I already wrote a post about the rise of mobile web consumption a day ago and now there's also a report from StatCounter that confirms that for the first time ever, more users used tablets and smartphones to access Internet content than the traditional desktop PC and laptops. The latter segment now accounts for just 48.7 percent worldwide, versus 51.3 percent for mobile devices!

Mobile Internet consumption is pretty much an unstoppable trend, as you can see in the chart below mobile devices accounted for close to nothing of Internet consumption in 2009 but have seen tremendous growth over the last couple of years. It's believed almost 80 percent of Internet traffic will be accessed via mobile devices in 2018.

One thing to keep in mind here is that especially in emerging markets the mobile segment is the dominant means of access, but in the developed world it's also gaining traction in a very rapid fashion.

StatCounter also found that the maturity of the market impacts which is the dominant means of access, and as you might have guessed, mobile platforms are far and away the method of choice for internet access when it comes to emerging markets like India, where they account for 75 percent of use. More mature markets including the UK, the US and Ireland still see use swinging in favor of desktop, but the trend is still showing a narrowing gap.

Via: TechCrunch