iPhone share of U.S. smartphone traffic hits 69%

Fortune ^ | 06/25/2009 | By Philip Elmer-DeWitt

[Swordmaker]

June 25, 2009, 8:00 am

iPhone share of U.S. smartphone traffic hits 69%

See the blue slice in the pie chart at right? [ABOVE] It represents the iPhone’s share of U.S. smartphone traffic on the network maintained by AdMob, one of the companies that run those little ads that appear on the screen of your mobile phone.

We’ve been watching that slice grow over the past few months. In February it covered 51% of the pie. By April it had grown to 59%. And by Thursday morning, when AdMob released the May edition of its U.S. smartphone pie, Apple’s (AAPL) share had grown to 69% — a 10 point increase in one month.

[appeal2]

How do you do it?

Also apps like Pandora, SiriusXM, AOL Radio, dramatically increase bandwith usage. I had Sirius in two cars. They just came out with the Sirius App for the iPhone. I was able to cancel Sirius on that vehicle. Now I just use the iPhone. It actually has better reception than the satellite receiver in the car.

Also, the ability to down load podcasts and apps right to the phone instead of through your computer adds quite a bit to bandwith consumption. AT&T puts a 10meg limit on downloads through the cellular system.

Finally, this trend is going to continue and increase. The 3GS is much faster than the 3G. This will lead to ever more browsing.

[Star Traveler]

Well, you know... you may be right...

There should be a full range of comparisons there..,, like how many iPhones use the web, versus how many times do the citizens of a certain city go to the bathroom... :-)

Or perhaps another good comparison to know is how many web pages are accessed by the iPhone, compared to how many pizzas do we buy in the U.S.?

Or one that really jumps out at me, is how many web pages are accessed by the iPhone, compared to how many times did Obama refuse to give up his birth certificate (now that would be a favorite of some here at FReepville... LOL).

Yeah, that comparison of how many web pages does iPhone access compared to other U.S. Smartphones is so... (what can you say...) so manipulated... for sure... LOL...

[Star Traveler]

You said — This sums up the Apple Complex.

—

Yeah, I’m sure that a lot of people from a century or two ago, would look at us, here in the 21st century and identify a lot of “complexes” that we’re engaged in — like “cars” and “phones” and “TVs” and “computers” ... that would all be really strange stuff to them and it would definitely be considered a “complex” to them — because they knew these things weren’t essential or needed. Heck! they never needed a car or phone or TV or a computer once — back a couple of hundred years ago... LOL...

What can I say..., some people live in the past and others are in the future... :-)

[Star Traveler]

You said — I don’t know about anybody else, but I do not want a tracking cookie on my phone. Evidently the iPhone is easy to track.

—

Ummm..., I guess you don’t know it, but you give up some information about you when you access a webpage... LOL...

You could go through an anonymizer, if you wanted to, and have some of that data blocked or rather be the data of the anonymizer, instead. I guess that would be up to you if you wanted to go to that extent. Otherwise, everyone is giving up data...

[Star Traveler]

You said — I thought iPhone was not a smartphone.

—

Well..., there was a problem categorizing the iPhone, so the best they could do was to come up with the “highest category possible” for a phone, in general, and put the iPhone in that category.

Unfortunately, it turned out that this was like comparing the NASA Space Shuttle to a bunch of Amish Black horse carriages...

But, what else can you do? LOL...

[Star Traveler]

You said — May make an iphone worth it now...

—

Can you imagine the network that AT&T is having to bolster about now, and has been for the last two years? With AT&T having to keep up with all this web traffic that all the other networks never have to put up with, this will really make AT&% a first class network.

Also, look at it this way, too. Every single iPhone sold here in the U.S. is going to go on AT&T’s network and they all have to have a data plan. That’s because people use it whether they really “want to” or not. I mean the features are *there* on the iPHone, in such a way, that you’re using features (on the network) whether you realize it or not. It’s so darned easy to use...

And so, that means AT&T is getting a whole lot of traffic they have to supply to all these iPhone users. That makes for a powerful cel phone network, which is going to serve them well in the long run, in comparison to the other ones around.

[Star Traveler]

You said — I prefer my HTC Touch Pro WinMo phone myself, thankyouverymuch!

—

I guess that’s why yours shows up so prominently in the graph, too... eh?

[Star Traveler]

You said — I can’t even consider getting one because I live in the sticks, and AT&T isn’t an option for service. I’d like for Bill Kurtis to come here with his laptop and “find the internet”.

—

I guess that is one unfortunate aspect of AT&T not being ubiquitous...

Pray tell..., who is there for your service?

[Star Traveler]

You said — Finally, this trend is going to continue and increase. The 3GS is much faster than the 3G. This will lead to ever more browsing.

—

You know..., when I sat in doctor’s office and dentist offices and other medical facilities in the past (and you know how you have to sit and wait there... LOL..), I used to thumb through their magazines that they always have all over the place. And sometimes, I would even think ahead of time to bring a book or something that I wanted to read.

But, not nowadays, I don’t. Nowadays, I pop out that iPhone and I start reading some stuff on the Net, or checking FReepville, to see how things are going there, or my e-mail, and stuff like that.

Sometimes, I know I’m going somewhere next, after the appointment and I’ll look at the map to see about my route, and maybe glance at the satellite overhead view of the area.

In fact, now I’m sorry I’m not waiting even longer in the doctor’s offices... LOL...

[Mr. Blonde]

I would guess at some point Apple is going to want out of their exclusive agreement with AT&T. Lots and lots of customers out there who can’t or won’t switch to AT&T, why leave them out in the cold?

[Star Traveler]

You said — I would guess at some point Apple is going to want out of their exclusive agreement with AT&T. Lots and lots of customers out there who can’t or won’t switch to AT&T, why leave them out in the cold?

—

What I’m pointing out here is not that customers shouldn’t be able to switch to another network in the future, but that other networks won’t have the infrastructure in place (like AT&T has and is having to do to *beef it up*) — to even be able to accommodate Apple.

Those other networks (and I think there’s only one, actually) would have to change their operations to accommodate Apple’s iPhone. I don’t know if they’re able or even willing to do so.

And, from what I know (some reading I did a while back) there is only one other network that can even accommodate the signal that the iPhone operates on. And that network is a *poor substitute* to AT&T’s right now...

I don’t know what “better” that anyone can get out of switching, actually...

[rwfromkansas]

Question is.......how much will they jack the price up to tether every month....another 50 bucks?

I don’t know how all the other poor reporters at my paper manage to afford the iPhone every month, but then again, I am married and we are getting our first house here very shortly because we are careful with our money even though my wife doesn’t make a ton either working for a non-profit foundation.

Still, I am determined to get one in a year or so. It’s expensive, but not worse than our Alltel laptop USB modem.

[rwfromkansas]

Yeah, the one thing I didn’t like about the 3G was that it still took awhile for it to respond, particularly with google maps etc.

I would have no problem getting the 3GS...nice and fast.

[KoRn]

"who is there for your service?"

US Cellular, only. In a few spotty areas we can use the Verizon network, but it's so unreliable it isn't worth paying for.

[rwfromkansas]

I’m a big Verizon fan (was alltel, but that’s no more and I am now absorbed into Verizon..yay). But, they turned the iPhone down when they had the chance.

I may have to switch to ATT just to get the thing once my contract runs out in a year. I have loved it when I have played with it.

I just won’t get it until after June/July.....that’s when they always seem to release the latest version.

[AFreeBird]

I read somewhere, no confirmation, that AT&T’s exclusive with Apple expires next year.

[Mr. Blonde]

I actually have T-Mobile now. They are much better to deal with than AT&T so far in my experience. They are the only other ones operating on GSM right now in the US. My service has been fine, especially with the no roaming (anywhere AT&T has service I still have it). Where T-Mobile is lacking right now is 3G service. But I believe they are working on improving that. Especially as they have more 3G phones coming out including the new Android phone.

[Star Traveler]

You said — I’m a big Verizon fan (was alltel, but that’s no more and I am now absorbed into Verizon..yay). But, they turned the iPhone down when they had the chance.

—

There is free roaming on the iPhone. So, that means if AT&T doesn’t have its tower there, then you can get the signal from another one. Of course, it has to be the same basic signal (not a completely different kind). You may not get the extra features, like the digital/visual voice mail and/or some other things on another network, but you will be able to use the phone.

I’ve seen different systems pop up on my iPhone as I move around, but mostly, I’m always in AT&T areas, it seems.

The only problem here, with the free roaming, is that you would not want your home base location to be on the roaming all the time. I think if you’re consistently in roaming (not on AT&T), you might run into a problem with billing. I don’t know for sure, since I’ve never had the problem, but I think that could be a problem. But, they should know when you sign up, from your address. I think they make sure it’s okay from the home address.

[Star Traveler]

Well, with T-Mobile, if you’ve got AT&T on the free roaming ability, then that means if you have AT&T (as the primary carrier), you’ll also have the same coverage, as they’ll use T-Mobile on free roaming for AT&T, too... :-)

But, with AT&T, when you are in their cel tower areas, you’ll get the full features of the iPhone, while if you’re in the T-Mobile areas, you may be lacking a few... (especially the visual voice mail, I think...).

Thus, it would seem you couldn’t go wrong with going to AT&T and iPhone..., anyway, that would be my thinking... :-)

[Star Traveler]

You said — I read somewhere, no confirmation, that AT&T’s exclusive with Apple expires next year.

—

I had read that it was five years, when they were talking about it originally, when the iPhone was first released. This is year 2 right now. Next June would be Year 3, and then three more years from now would be Year 5.