So, why is it so important to build websites that look great and are easy to use on an iPhone, other Smart Phone(internet-capable phone) or iPad?
There are 2 reasons:
1) The continued increase in the number of internet-capable (SmartPhone) owners. Nearly half of all Australian mobile phone users now own a SmartPhone. The adoption of internet phones has been growing steadily since the introduction of mobile data cap plans in Australia. According to Nielsen, Telstra has seen mobile data traffic on its Next G™ network double every eight months for the past two years.
Australia's infatuation with the iPhone has also driven mobile internet adoption worldwide.
Nokia still maintains a solid lead on internet phones in Australia with a 35 per cent market share, however, the iPhone has made significant gains in the past year, more than doubling from just 13 per cent to 28 per cent market share. Intention to purchase an iPhone also remains high, with Apple set to triple its share this year
2) The continued increase in Smart Phone holders conducting online searches using their mobiles.
According to Google, mobile queries from fully featured mobile browsers have increased by a factor of four in the past year. According to new research by The Nielsen Company, some 73% of users conduct online searches by mobile now, compared with 30% a year ago.
Internet searches are the most popular online activity on the phones. Other common uses include checking news and weather (59 per cent, up 18 points), email (58 per cent, up 20 points), maps and directions (56 per cent, up 24 points) and social networking (39 per cent, up 25 points). With an overwhelming majority of the share of mobile social networking, Facebook is by far the most common social networking site accessed via mobile (98 per cent), followed by Twitter (20 per cent) and MySpace (17 per cent), the report said.
If you're still not convinced, have a read of these articles:
