Understanding Google My Business & Local Search
Japan’s Mobile Phone Web Use= PC Internet Use (sort of)
Mobile Phone Web Users Nearly Equal PC Based Internet Users in Japan
53.6 Million Japanese Use Mobile Phones to Access the Internet – Email is the Most Popular Mobile Web Activity
Other tidbits:
•Interstingly 51% do Search/Navigation.
•Time spent web browsing on mobile phones is still much lower than that spent on desktop PC’s. Internet usage on mobile phones averages 8.1 hours per month versus 18.9 hours by PC -Adoption of web usage on mobile phones skews young. People under 34 years old account for 64 percent of mobile phone web users versus 45 percent of PC web users.
•Despite these significant usage figures, consumer satisfaction remains low. Only 12.6 percent of respondents accessing the Internet via a mobile device stated that they were either “very satisfied†or “somewhat satisfiedâ€, with 52.1 percent stating that they were either “very dissatisfied†or “somewhat dissatisfiedâ€.
It is this last point that creates the opening for iPhone like devices. In yesterday’s WSJ an analyst noted that the iPhone faced considerably more competition in Europe than in the U.S. and thus might not do as well there. He noted that a phone with similar features was “free” with a contract. Certainly, Europe and Japan are ahead of the U.S. in the level of mobile web use, mobile technologies and speed of access. Europe will be a good test of whether those attributes trump usability. Given the stats in Japan and my personal experience (I fall in the “very dissatisfied” catergory), I would think not. “Free” is never a compelling value if it doesn’t work well.
© Copyright 2024 - MIKE BLUMENTHAL, ALL RIGHT RESERVED.
Comments
4 Comments
[…] Network capacity permits richer experiences. Probably more important than usability – at least at first. Just as increased deployment of broadband revitalized the PC-based web (where were AJAX or other RIA technologies prior?), increased mobile capacity will enable more useful experiences for consumers on mobile devices. […]
I am amazed at the quoted usage; “usage on mobile phones averages 8.1 hours per month versus 18.9 hours by PC “. So despite the low useability rating they are using it, and heavily.
This is going to be one real big factor then in the future of the web.
Some colleagues have been telling me to pick up and create some .mobi web sites, and this suggests they are absolutely on the mark here then.
Steve-
Yes but in the US at least users are not patient enough for that type of experience. I am wondering whether an iPhone type experience on more devices will obviate the need for .mobi.
Mike
Approximately 40% of the population enjoy access to the Internet via mobile phones in Japan, where user needs have driven developments of the mobile Internet such as “i-mode”. After reviewing mobile Internet services in Japan, this article examines key social and cultural factors of mobile Internet use based on nationally representative surveys focusing on differences between PC and mobile Internet.
Comments for this post are closed.