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Mobile internet use up 25% as young people make online move

by Dan Leahul, Brand Republic 24-Nov-08, 11:50

LONDON - Mobile internet use has skyrocketed in the UK in 2008, growing eight times more than PC-based internet, according to a Nielsen Online study.

From the second to third quarter, mobile internet use increased 25%, from 5.8m to 7.3m users, compared to 3% growth for PC-based internet (34.3m to 35.3m). Mobile internet is increasingly popular among young people, with a quarter of mobile internet users aged 15-24, compared to one-in-eight PC users.

Kent Ferguson, Nielsen senior analyst, said: "The fact that almost 7.5m Britons now access the web through their phone shows that mobile internet is fast becoming a viable way for advertisers and publishers to reach important demographic groups."

BBC News and Google are the most popular websites for mobile internet users, followed by Facebook and Hotmail.

Mobile internet traffic also accounts for the majority of pages visits to sites like BBC Weather, Sky Sports and Gmail.

Ferguson said: "This highlights the advantage of mobile when it comes to immediacy -- people often need fast, instant access to weather or sports news and mobile can obviously satisfy this, wherever they are.

"The fact that most weather, sports, news and email sites make up the majority of leading mobile sites show that, at the moment, mobile internet is mainly about functionality and need as opposed to the more entertainment and ecommerce-focused makeup of the leading PC-based sites."

Comments

Chris Bourke, Mobext (Havas Digital) - 27/11/2008

Fantastic news for all of us tasked with helping brands navigate mobile media and no doubt flat rate data packages are a major contributing factor to this development. If this pace of growth continues, then we should expect a complete media ecosystem to develop much faster on mobile than it did on the fixed internet; that's an exciting prospect for any digital advertiser looking to target their prospects in brand new ways.

Greg Beazley - 29/11/2008

Yes, very good news. I think once new mobile handsets replace 2G mobiles this figure will jump even further. Mobile internet is still terrible in terms of user-friendliness, but phones such as the iPhone has started to change this. Mobile internet is young and full of opportunities, but its when those opportunities become possible to implement is up to mobile manufacturers, networks and of course, the consumer.

Bill Eater - 30/11/2008

The coming of Gen-Y is going to catch a lot of people by surprise. They grew up watching their fathers be loyal to the workplace, then get laid off after 19 years of service. And, there's an odd sense of entitlement as well. They are smug, pissed off, and interact more with devices than people.

Should be a challenging time for marketers :)

Karl Havard - 02/12/2008

Much smarter marketing approaches will be needed. At last! It's going to be all about engaging the right person, at the right time and the right place. I think we're finally seeing a genuine cross over from the virtual to the real world and vice versa.

David Hockin - 04/12/2008

The best mobile services access place and context to provide relevant information. Marketeers will need a compelling offer if they wish to access consumers' personal networks. We've found users willing to engage with mobile brands in exchange for targeted local information.