Boingo Wireless, the biggest Wi-Fi provider in the world, has released the results of its study regarding Wi-Fi use. According to the study called WiFi Snapshot, 58.9 percent of devices that connect to the Wi-Fi network are tablets or smartphones.
The data comes from 60 airports in Europe and North America, and around 400,000 Wi-Fi hotspots worldwide. With the 58.9 percent, 83 percent of those are from smartphones and tablets that run Apple’s iOS. Android has more than tripled its market share since last year, but it is still placed at fourth place next to the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.
“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 Boingo Wireless Vice President of Consumer Marketing Dawn Callahan. “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 report also revealed that the overall size of Wi-Fi devices has increased five times in the last five years, with the growth of tablets and smartphones and the doubling of laptops. Tablets and smartphone have surpassed laptops as the most widely carried device in airports.
Boingo also thinks most people use their devices to stream music and video, as mobile data usage is skyrocketing. In 2011, the amount of data used per minute is 0.89 MB, compared to 0.37 MB in 2009.
via: Gizmodo
