Apple’s iPhone platform and Safari browser, along with Google’s search engine, are kings in the mobile world of Web browsing. That’s the conclusion of the new monthly report by industry watcher Net Applications.
The report shows the iPhone with a crushing 67 percent market share for operating systems used for mobile browsing. Java ME is second at about nine percent, Windows Mobile is nearly seven percent, and Android and Symbian are close behind at a little over six percent. The research firm also shows Palm at about 2.3 percent, BlackBerry at a surprisingly remote 2.2 percent, and Qualcomm’s BREW at about two percent.
On the desktop, Windows gained as Windows XP usage continued a slow decline to 63.7 percent of all PCs but Windows Vista rose to 22.8 percent and the Windows 7 beta had .18 percent of the market. Apple’s Mac OS X fell .32 percent to 9.6 percent.
BlackBerry Web Share Misleading?
Some observers have pointed out that the BlackBerry’s share of mobile Web browsing is misleading in the Net Applications report, since sales reports show it has sold more units than the iPhone. One question is whether its users are as intent on browsing the Web as iPhone users are. But another factor could be that its default browser is WAP-based rather than HTML, and WAP isn’t measured in the Net Applications report.
Mobile measurement is very much a challenge, and Net Applications said it uses “a unique methodology.” Its process is to collect data “from the browsers of site visitors to our exclusive on-demand network of live stats customers,” which, the company added, represents about 160 million visitors each month.
By browsers, the report shows the iPhone’s Safari with about a 77.5 percent share, followed by Opera Mini at a little over nine percent. Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is at five percent,…