The exponential growth in popularity of
internet-enabled multimedia devices is resulting in increases in
non-PC based web traffic, and many internet users in Southeast
Asia (SEA) now access the internet via a device other than their
PC, such as mobiles and tablet devices, according to recent
figures released by Nielsen.
The Nielsen figures reveal that while personal
computers remain the primary means of getting online for SEA
internet users (94%), a growing proportion are turning to
alternative devices and 4% say their mobile phone is
their primary means of accessing the internet.
Use of portable
devices as a means to access the internet is expected to continue
to grow in the future, with 61% of internet users indicating they would access the internet via a mobile phone
within the next 12 months, and one third intended to access the
internet via other handheld multimedia devices such as tablet
computers.
At the end of 2010, Nielsen estimated
Smartphone penetration amongst SEA netizens to be around 20%. In addition, close to one in two SEA internet users who
did not already own a Smartphone at the end of 2010 intended to
purchase a Smartphone in 2011, with this expected spike in
Smartphone ownership adding fuel to mobile internet usage,
particularly if data plans become more affordable.
“Southeast
Asians have been very quick to embrace new technology such as
Smartphones and tablets which provide on-the-go access to the
internet,” said Matt Bruce, Nielsen’s Managing Director of
Audience Measurement in the APMEA Region. “The rapid upswing in
ownership of internet-enabled devices is now starting to play out
in terms of the make-up of internet activity and our clients
increasingly need to gauge what proportion of their web traffic
can be attributed to devices other than PCs.”
Tapping into this
growing demand for “anytime, anywhere” internet access, Nielsen
has just announced enhancements to its website tagging service,
Market Intelligence, enabling website owners to, for the first
time, monitor the make-up of traffic to their sites based on
device type.
Nielsen’s enhanced Market Intelligence service will
also report on the ultra-competitive operating system (OS) space, comparing Microsoft’s Windows OS with others such as Mac OS, iOS
(the operating system used on Apple’s iPhone and iPad) and
Android.
“With the lion’s share of internet activity being
driven by PCs, Windows remains the front-runner in operating
systems,” added Bruce. “If we look at operating systems in use
for Smartphones or Tablets specifically, however, these numbers
look quite different. As non-PC internet activity continues to
ramp up, operating systems such as iOS and Android will begin to
account for a much larger portion of web traffic.”
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