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80% of iPhone Users in the UK, France, Germany Browse the Mobile Web

iPhone users in the EU3 surpass all others in mobile media usage: More than 80% of them in France, Germany and the UK using it to browse news and information on the mobile web, compared with 32% of other smartphone users, according to comScore.

• Some 42% of iPhone users visited a social-networking site on their device in May compared with the market average of 3% and 10% of smartphone owners.
• Email is another popular feature, with nearly 70% of iPhone users sending and receiving email with the device, compared with just 26% among other smartphones users and 7.6% of the cell phone market overall.

Demographics

comScore’s M:Metrics service also found that while smartphones are adopted by a higher proportion of men than mobile phones overall, iPhones have an even stronger skew to men in the UK and Germany:

In the UK for example, 75% of iPhone users are male, while men account for about 68% of smartphone users. In contrast, in France, 67% of iPhone users are men compared with a higher 71% of smartphone users.

2.5G and 3G

Even on the slower 2.5G mobile network, the iPhone had increased mobile internet consumption by a factor of 13 in the case of social-networking sites, M:Metrics said. The new iPhone’s 3G capability will drive usage even higher as the iPhone challenges its competitors, it projected.

The improvement in iPhone handset features and reduced pricing should have a significant impact on uptake, especially in the European markets, where the UK has 3G penetration at 26%, Germany at 23% and France at 17%, according to comScore M:Metrics data.

“It is worth noting that the Nokia N95 8GB with high speed 3G and significant handset subsidies now has over twice as many users as the iPhone across the UK, Germany and France,” observed Paul Goode, senior analyst, comScore M:Metrics.

“Yet the iPhone, despite its small user-base, is already in the top 10 handsets for online browsing in the UK and in the top 5 in France and Germany. It is giving devices like Nokia’s N Series and Sony Ericsson K and W Series a definite run for their money.”