According to Web analytics firm StatCounter, the BlackBerry mobile operating system overtook Apple’s iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch) for the first time in November. In the U.S., Apple iOS devices accounted for 33% of Web traffic while Blackberry reached 34.3%. The data being reported comes from over 15 billion page views on StatCounter’s network of 3 million+ websites, so inconsequential sampling isn’t the issue here.
StatCounter CEO Aodhan Cullen notes, “these figures suggest that developers should not be developing solely for the iPhone to the exclusion of BlackBerry and Android.” Frankly, that’s something developers shouldn’t have to be told, we would hope. But in case you thought otherwise – please heed the advice. What’s the cause here? Are BlackBerry users really doing more Web browsing? Well, there are several explanations. First, BlackBerry 6 os. RIM’s newest version of the BlackBerry operating system has a vastly revamped Webkit browser that is used dramatically more frequently than the old plain previous BlackBerry Browser. The new Webkit browser features tabbed browsing, an improved web engine, RSS support, pinching, zooming and more.The second explanation, according to studies, native mobile apps will always be preferred when the mobile Web experience remains poor. Think slow loading times, no mobile site, etc.. What are your thoughts on both explanations? Do you think they hold up? What other factors can you think of that have caused BlackBerry web usage to surge?
via readwriteweb