iPads Consume 400% More Wi-Fi Data Than Other Mobile Devices

Apple’s iPad accounts for an ever-expanding percentage of the browser market. It’s also becoming a huge Wi-Fi data hog, consuming 400% more Wi-Fi data on a monthly basis than the average iPhone, iPod or Android device, according to a new report.

Meraki, a cloud services provider, anonymously surveyed more than 100,000 devices accessing public, educational and general use Wi-Fi networks in the U.S. It analyzed bandwidth usage and operating system popularity between 2010 and 2011 to uncover the massive gap between the Wi-Fi data usage of iPads and other mobile devices.

Mobile devices on the whole, according to the study, have usurped desktop platforms as the most ubiquitous Wi-Fi devices. In 2010, iOS and Android devices accounted for a combined 33% of Wi-Fi devices. Now they represent 58%. By comparison, Windows and Mac OS X devices together declined from 63% to 36% during the same time span.

Meanwhile, the iPhone has become the single most popular Wi-Fi device, with an impressive 32% share of the market.

The next time the Wi-Fi at your favorite coffee shop slows to a halt, look around you. The slew of iPads, iPhones and Androids in the room may be the culprits.

Image courtesy of Flickr, Alexander Smolianitski

App usage outstripping desktop and mobile web says Flurry

Mobile analytics firm claims its data shows people are spending 81 minutes a day using apps

Apps have overtaken web for per-user daily usage according to Flurry's figures

In June 2010, the average US mobile user spent 43 minutes a day usingapps. In June 2011, that has increased to 81 minutes.

That is the key finding from a new piece of research by mobile analytics firm Flurry, based on data from iPhone, BlackBerry, Windows Phone and Java handset owners.

Flurry claims that this means that mobile app usage has now overtaken desktop and mobile web usage in terms of minutes per day per user, citing comScore and Alexa statistics to show this is 74 minutes for web usage.

"This growth has come primarily from more sessions per user, per day rather than a large growth in average session lengths," explains the company in its blog post. "Time spent on the Internet has grown at a much slower rate, 16% over the last year, with users now spending 74 minutes on the Internet a day."

Flurry has also broken down the time spent per app category, revealing that 47% of app usage is gaming and 32% social networking, followed by news (9%), entertainment (7%) and other apps (5%).

"As we drill down into the data, consumers use these two categories more frequently, and for longer average session lengths, compared to other categories," explains Flurry. "Any way we slice it, Games and Social Networking apps deliver the most engaging experience on mobile today."

The company puts its research in the context of this month's rumours about Facebook's Project Spartan, which is expected to bring the social network's platform for games and other applications to the mobile web, and possibly to its native mobile apps.

Facebook's apps are already hugely popular on mobile, but its presence in mobile gaming is currently focused purely on use of its Facebook Connect API. Flurry thinks its stats show why Project Spartan will look to do more, and the company may well be right.

Flurry's figures are for US mobile users only.

Increase Enterprise iPad Utilization by 20%

Increase Enterprise iPad Utilization by 20%

Cloud Distribution News

Although I don't have any data or studies to prove this, I have a hunch that iPad utilization in enterprises could be enhanced by at least 10% and perhaps as much as 20% by extending its physical accessibility.
You're probably aware that iPad (without a case) is a slippery device. And while you can get far better grip on it when used with a case, it's still not ideal in certain work environments. In fact, some cases in certain realms actually create counter-productive outcomes. Desktop stands and docking solutions provide some degree of improved utilization, but only for office workers. Unfortunately a significant crop of information workers don't work at desks and many who work with information, also use their hands.


Increasing Accessibility
iPad use, and the benefits that go along with this new device in context with the emerging app-centric enterprise, can flourish in organizations if you add one additional level of agility –

the ability to stick the iPad to a solid surface.

A little company in Melbourne, Australia has had similar thoughts and has created a system for sticking up iPads where they can become more accessible and utilized more effectively. It's line of Wallee products include snap-on cases (hard shell plastic and very protective) and attachment accessories designed for a wide variety of environments.
Wallee is based on a simple design – a standardized wall "button" that really isn't required for walls at all. This little fastening button can be mounted on just about anything you can imagine; their customer photos clearly show some creativity with this mounting device and the new ideas emerging in the Wallee lab are impressive.

Wallee is simple, smart, and blends well with almost every environment. That's the key – finding ideas and ways where the synergy of a particular environment exposes the power of the magical iPad. This is more about techno-chemistry and less about the individual parts – Wallee and iPad.
As I've written in the past (see "iPad in Business: It's All About Utility"), iPad is well-versed in creating unique experiences. Wallee is equally well designed to allow those experiences to take happen in places that are environmentally challenged.

For example… every health club and corporate health facility should have a few Wallee's available for members. Setting aside the benefit of using some of the clever iPad exercise tracking systems, there are other business benefits that aren't so obvious such as employees staying on top of important activities easily, or the decreased likelihood that an iPad will be damaged in a workout center.

Imagine these scenarios just in the hospitality industry. Don't get me started on health care.

• Host/hostess workstation; limited workspace, constantly mobile.
• Housekeepers; constantly mobile, iPad affixed to the cleaning cart; used to track quality, tasks, checklists.
• Events and conferences staff; hang on wall between shifts; seamless flow of knowledge throughout the day.
• Resort hotel security; mount in vehicles, golf carts.
• Head chef; always in the kitchen; rarely at a desk, but in need of information about food supplies, schedules, reservations.
• Business center or concierge; mounted on counter for guests.

Businesses need to think outside the box to envision how to embrace iPad in specific physical environments.
Anywhere you see clipboards hanging on a wall – that's a clue where Wallee-affixed iPads should be hanging instead of this centuries-old device.

Fed up of wonky Wi-fi? Then join our Facebook Group now!

Fed up of wonky Wi-fi? Then join our Facebook Group now!

Electricpig

Yesterday we kicked off our campaign Say No to Wi-fi NotSpots, where with your help, we're waging war against failing Wi-fi hotspots. Have you had it up to your eyeballs with wonky Wi-fi when you're on the go? If the answer's yes, then join our Facebook Group, and show Wi-fi providers that you want something better.

We want your Wi-fi NotSpot horror stories too. We've already heard tales of nurses bombarded by patients desperate to get a Facebook fix, and the woeful state of Wi-fi some of our readers find in fast food and hotel chains.
If you're sat somewhere still waiting for this page to load because of a tardy connection, then give us a shout on the Facebook Group or tweet us @electricpig, dropping in your location and the provider with the hashtag #notspot.
Join the digital march, give us your gripes, and help us put pressure on the providers to give us a better service!

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