Mobile devices now drive 7% of US web traffic

Mobile devices continue to gain popularity among United States consumers, driving up to nearly seven percent of Web traffic there, according to data released by market researcher ComScore. Tech site CNET cited ComScore figures indicating 6.8 percent of Web traffic originated from “non-computer" devices in August, compared with 6.2 percent at the end of the previous quarter. It said mobile phones accounted for 4.4 percent of that traffic, while tablets made up 1.9 percent, CNET said, citing ComScore data. Also, the number of US consumers using mobile devices to access the Web grew to more than 116 million - a 19-percent increase in the past year. “The popularization of smartphones and the introduction of tablets and other Web-enabled devices--collectively termed ‘connected devices’--have contributed to an explosion in digital media consumption," Mark Donovan, ComScore senior vice president of mobile, said in the report. He added that as these devices gain adoption, “we have also seen the rise of the ‘digital omnivores’--consumers who access content through several touchpoints during the course of their daily digital lives." iPad dominates tablet web traffic As expected, Apple Inc.’s iPad tablet dominated in tablet Web traffic, delivering 97.2 percent. The iPad also accounted for more Web traffic than iPhones (46.8 percent versus 42.6 percent of all iOS device traffic). On the other hand, Apple’s iOS platform beat out Google’s Android, accounting for 43.1 percent of mobile Web mobile Web traffic, compared with the 34.1 percent delivered by Android. News, socializing News and socializing rated highest among tablet owners, with about 58 percent saying they used the device for news consumption. A similar number said they used tablets for social networking. —TJD, GMA News