There is a good bet that half of the internet use associated with Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch comes from Wifi in Australia. This is very interesting.
Mobile ad network AdMob are a good barometer when trying to find out how consumers use mobile applications. As the dominant ad platform used by applications on the Apple platform, their aggregate data is a healthy sample size from which to draw hypotheses and indeed last week this figure of 50% of AdMob inventory was quoted from the horses mouth. The other 50% comes via the users carrier data pack.
Why is this interesting? Let me hypothesize based on this:
1. Consumers are taking control of their data sources (3G vs Wifi)
2. Despite perception that public wifi has poor distribution in Australia, consumers are finding it, or:
3. Consumers are using Wifi on their iPhones/iPod Touch in their own homes, where they could be using a computer with larger screen. Likely consuming mobile data simultaneously to another medium like TV or gaming.
4. Consumers are conscious of the size of data they consume, but rather consume at sacrifice of mobility than cut down. Surely this is a great sign of demand in general for rich mobile experiences, albeit at a limited cost.
Now it is quite likely that a combination of all of the above is true. So which are likely to be more true?
My bets are on <b>control</b> of data and <b>demand</b> for data being the obvious trends. It would be safe to say we can trust consumers of this medium to be growing more confident and interested in the medium by the month – and we should be developing products, experiences and communications that understand this.
