iPad's the Mobile Device Superhighway for Web Traffic

Mobile devices are generating a growing portion of Internet traffic, according to comScore, with much of it coming from iPads and iPhones.

comScore quantifies the Web traffic driven specifically by smartphones and tablets at 6.8 percent. Of that 6.8 percent, two-thirds come from an assortment of other mobile devices and one-third from tablets. And of that one-third, the iPad is the clear dominator, accounting for 97.2 percent of tablet traffic.

What is somewhat surprising is that the iPad is driving slightly more Web traffic than the iPhone, comScore said -- 46.8 percent for the iPad, compared to 42.6 percent for the iPhone, as measured in August.

The iOS platform accounts for the largest share of mobile Internet traffic, measured in terms of browser-based page views. iOS accounted for more than half (58.5 percent) of the share of total noncomputer traffic in the U.S., while the Android OS delivered 31.9 percent.

Behind the Numbers

So what does all this mean from a practical point of view?

For starters, the figures tell us that iOS users tend to be heavier-than-average consumers of online content -- a very relevant fact to marketers. comScore reached that conclusion because iOS accounts for 58.5 percent of traffic, even though its share of devices stands at 43.1 percent.

"The report looks at the entire universe or audience of iOS users," comScore Marketing Manager Carmela Aquino told MacNewsWorld. "This includes the iPhone and iPod touch users. When they are all taken into acocunt, iOS does in fact capture the largest share." However, caution is advisable before jumping to conclusions based on any set of statistics, Movial CEO Jari Ala-Ruona told MacNewsWorld.

"The comScore report focuses on Internet browsing. Video and other forms of entertainment are huge sources of Internet traffic, and lots of it is consumed through the browser, but more is also consumed via dedicated media players and media-centric tablets," he explained.

Barnes &s Noble's Nook, for example, and Amazon's upcoming Kindle Fire "are both ereaders and Web browsers," noted Ala-Ruona, "and in the case of the Amazon Kindle Fire, intended for media consumption."

E-Commerce Possibilities

It appears that Android doesn't stand a chance of catching up with the iPad, judging from the comScore report.

That is subject to debate, however. For starters, the Kindle Fire could significantly change those tablet traffic patterns when it begins reaching consumers' hands in mid-November.

"Nearly half of all tablet owners have reported making a purchase," noted Aquino, "so that bodes well for the Kindle Fire."

If there's one thing the Kindle Fire is designed for, it is to buy from Amazon and its many third-party content providers.

New Ball Game

"The Kindle Fire is going to provide some very interesting competition to the iPad," said Bob O'Donnell, an analyst with IDC.

"It has a low price point, providing what people perceive to be a better value. More importantly, it comes with a whole range of services in terms of movies and books and TV shows," he told MacNewsWorld.

That said, the Fire can't be considered a pure Android play -- not hardly, O'Donnell continued. "It is a forked version of Android -- not the classic version you will see on Motorola."

In any case, no competitor is likely to get within striking distance of the iPad in the foreseeable future.

"The iPad had the success it did because it was out in front," Brian Fino, managing director of Fino Consulting, told MacNewsWorld. "And due to a combination of having a terrific ecosystem of apps and a great design, [it] became a must-have device among consumers."