While growth of web usage is up
across all mobile device classes, one of the biggest areas of growth
has been smartphones. ABI Research sees this growth continuing over the
next five years, with highly capable Internet browsers on smartphones
expanding from 130 million in 2008 to 530 million by 2013.
"From
the strong growth in ad-calls for ad networks such as Admob to the
astounding increases in page views for Opera Mini, it's very clear that
consumers have embraced the use of the web on mobile devices," says
research director Michael Wolf. "The increase in awareness of the web
on mobile devices - due to the iPhone and new RIM models - has helped
contribute to this growth, as has the continued move towards flat-rate
data plans by many mobile operators."
In
addition to more capable devices, consumers' desire to access popular
web applications such as web search, social networking and
online/mobile video is giving rapid rise to both pre-installation and
aftermarket downloads of capable mobile browsers. However, much more
work needs to be done to create a seamless experience for mobile users
trying to access the broader Internet for rich media applications.
"Three-screen
playback is motivating plug-in vendors such as Adobe, Microsoft and
Google to put significant development into the mobile device side to
enable a consistent experience across all three screens," adds Wolf.
"Investment in content access and playback both in browsers and
web-based applications across various devices will help to continue
this market's future growth."
ABI Research's recent study, The Mobile Browser Market
analyzes the market for mobile browsing, examining primary commercial
offerings from independent browser vendors and evaluating the growing
importance of open-source solutions such as WebKit.