The just-launched iPad already equals the BlackBerry in mobile Web browsing, but Android smartphones are making a dent in the iPhone’s previously all-conquering lead.
Well
that didn’t take long. After barely eight weeks on the market, Apple’s iPad already has the same share of the US Web browsing market as the entire fleet of BlackBerry handsets.
Internet research firm
Quantcast notes that in its
most recent summary of Web browsing, the iPad already ties with the BlackBerry. Android sits at twice their share, while the iPhone is almost three times that again.
Now to be fair, the iPad is primarily a Web-based consumption device while the BlackBerry is less about the Web than email. Indeed, RIM’s iconic smartphone is much less about the Web considering its lacklustre browser, which will thankfully be replaced by an advanced Webkit-based browser in the forthcoming
BlackBerry 6 OS upgrade.
Meanwhile, the iPhone’s hero status is under threat from the growth of Android.
In January 2009 Quantcast reported the iPhone OS claimed a commanding 75% share of North America’s mobile Web consumption while Android managed a standing start of just 5%.
But as of May this year the iPhone OS – sorry, iOS – had dropped to 59%, with Android showing a steady climb to 20%. Other mobile platforms, including BlackBerry and Windows Mobile, were flatlining at around 10% each.
That translates into a year-on-year boost of 12.2% for Android and a slump of 8.1% for iOS.