Boingo Wireless today released its Wi-Fi Snapshot, a data-driven infographic that provides detail related to significant trends seen among Wi-Fi users from it’s managed network of 60 airports and aggregated network of hundreds of thousands of hotspots worldwide.
Key takeaways:
• Mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) surpassed laptops as the most widely carried Wi-Fi device in airports, reaching 58.9% of all devices in June. Mobile devices passed the 50% mark for the first time in February 2011.
• The overall size of the Wi-Fi device market has increased fivefold in the last five years, with laptops doubling overall while the explosive growth of smartphones/tablets constituted the bulk of the growth.
• iOS has a commanding market share of mobile devices actively using Wi-Fi in those same venues, representing more than 83% of mobile total. Android more than tripled its market share from 2010, but is still a distant fourth place to iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices.
• Data consumption among mobile devices continues to increase both on a monthly basis and on a per-minute basis. This points to an increase in higher bandwidth activities that will likely test the limits of some users’ tiered 3G data plans.
“Given the latest numbers, I think it’s safe to say 2011 is the year Wi-Fi became an essential part of mobile Internet connectivity,” said Dawn Callahan, vice president of consumer marketing for Boingo Wireless, in the press release. “Since the launch of the iPhone in June 2007, we’ve seen a marked growth trend for non-laptop devices, but the exponential growth in iPhones and iPads in the last year pushed mobile devices past laptops, showcasing just how disruptive the trend is.”
The data used for the Wi-Fi Snapshot comes from web analytics reporting for more than 60 airports in North America and Europe, as well as monthly network connect data from Boingo’s customers who use non-laptop devices at more than 400,000 hotspots around the world.
Source: Boingo Wireless, Inc.
[Attribution: iClarified. Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Opportun” for the heads up.]
Interesting — even iPod touch by itself is much higher than Android. That says something about Android’s actual use. Many are sold but used as feature phones instead of mini-computers.
83% sounds low. Walk up and down the aircraft aisles on flights between the US and Europe, and it’s all i devices. The charging stations in the departure lounges are filled with white cables tethered to iPhones, iPads, and iPods. I did see an android on one flight, once.
Flew into Heathrow from Rome about 2 weeks ago and I’ll swear almost every passenger had either an iPhone or iPad – I was quite shocked and didn’t use mine for a while just to be different. The sheer numbers were mind boggling so yeh…83% seems low
Mind you, in three weeks travel in Africa, I only saw one other iPad.
Wow, real world data! The non iOS mobile traffic is ONLY 16.9% and 1/3rd of that is “Other”. These idiots have been telling us about how big the Google Android threat is. IT IS ONLY 11.3% OF THE TRAFFIC! That is about 1 out of 10 users of a OS that is spread over many manufacturers and product designs.
Android isn’t really a player with any one format or manufacturer. IT fake out here. Is this another shipped not used story.
The demographics here are important. The people who use devices in airports are the kind of people who use smartphones.
Most android devices are sold as feature phone replacements to people who don’t really use them for anything more than phones.
iDevices versus Android devices can be summed up by rephrasing the old Mac vs PC saying:
“Android devices are for people who want to work on their phones. iDevices are for people who want to GET WORK DONE on their phones.”
Android is given away to just about anybody. Refrigerators have Android. Soon your vacuum cleaner will have Android…why right? But it will get there. Than Goople can brag about quadrillion devices have Android. Failing to mention that your toilet bowl will have Android in conjunction with hemorrhoids no doubt.