iPhone Encouraging Mobile Data Usage

[MacRumors]

An FT.com article reports on findings from O2's recent launch of the iPhone in the UK.

One interesting statistic that was revealed was that 60% of U.K. iPhone users are sending or receiving more than 25 MB of data a month. This information alone is difficult to interpret, but O2's chief appears to believe that this represents a large increase in mobile data usage.

They try to compare it to the usage amongst non-iPhone O2 users (only 1.8% of other O2 customers use > 25MB/mo), but this is unhelpful as the iPhone would tend to draw a more data-centric audience. And many phones have no data-options available to them, but would also be counted in that percentage.

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[twoodcc]

well i know i use more data with my iPhone then before. in fact, i used basically 0 data before my iPhone. (had a razr)

[tobefirst]

I use a ton more data than I used before the iPhone. My text message count has gone up, and my internet usage has skyrocketed. Plus, I've never had email on my cell like I do now. The iPhone has very much changed the way I use a cell.

[simon.robin]

Seems fairly obvious to me.
Email capabilities - No MMS send pics etc through email.
No games stored on iphone all have to be played online.

Everyones just got a new toy so of course the are going to go mental and try everything thing out.

see what the stats are like in a few months time when peeps are more used to it.

I love mine and can sit for hours surfing in the house rather than go upstairs and use the PC.

[Yuppi]

Originally Posted by simon.robin

I love mine and can sit for hours surfing in the house rather than go upstairs and use the PC.

I see your problem. You are using a PC With the sleep mode working so perfect in Macs I don't think I would use it too often in house except for remoting the dreambox which is very geeky..

Other than that, I really hope to get my iPhone soon. It served well for price comparisons in the christmas shopping time. And it just feels amazing..

[Daveway]

25mb/mo. Psssssshhhh... try 200mb/mo avg. so far.

This is a good sign because it will force providers to scale their data packages and make them more affordable. Specifically Canada.

[shadowfax]

Originally Posted by Yuppi

I see your problem. You are using a PC With the sleep mode working so perfect in Macs I don't think I would use it too often in house except for remoting the dreambox which is very geeky..

Other than that, I really hope to get my iPhone soon. It served well for price comparisons in the christmas shopping time. And it just feels amazing..

Nah, I find myself using my iPhone over my MBP in bed in the mornings to check the latest internet stuff. it's practically as fast as the MBP for page loading, and it's so much more convenient to hold in the hand than have to sit up and have the laptop Bakelite itself to the covers/my lap.

we're in the car driving back from the beach in port aransas, TX now. browsing macrumors at 60mph. I love the iPhone!

[maestro55]

No doubt the browser on the iPhone beats the current options out there are on other phones. Even the mobile version of Opera is very poorly designed compared Safari on the iPhone. I know that I am using 100MB+ now with my iPhone, it is nice to surf while out and about without taking my MacBook or ThinkPad considering that most of what I like to check mobile is the news and weather the iPhone is perfect for that.

[Telp]

Originally Posted by tobefirst

I use a ton more data than I used before the iPhone. My text message count has gone up, and my internet usage has skyrocketed. Plus, I've never had email on my cell like I do now. The iPhone has very much changed the way I use a cell.

100% in agreement with you here. BUt i love it. Great phone, cant wait till mobile iChat

[jonny]

Originally Posted by Daveway

25mb/mo. Psssssshhhh... try 200mb/mo avg. so far.

This is a good sign because it will force providers to scale their data packages and make them more affordable. Specifically Canada.

Amen to that. I used 8mb last month.

[Daveway]

Originally Posted by jonny

Amen to that. I used 8mb last month.

And got charged $80 probably.

[jonny]

Originally Posted by Daveway

And got charged $80 probably.

actually i kept it under my 10mb for $5 limit... so I was ok, but it would sure be nice to be able to surf some h.264 pr0n inthe bathroom at work...

[mkrishnan]

Originally Posted by Daveway

This is a good sign because it will force providers to scale their data packages and make them more affordable. Specifically Canada.

Amen to that. Poor Canadians.

I'd guess I'd use somewhat more data on an iPhone than I use on my BB, although not that much. My BB was initially around 20 or 30MB a month because of app downloads and things, but it's settled down to more like 5 or 6MB of data, almost exclusively e-mail.

From what I've used of the iPhone's browser and web apps, I'd use them more than I use the BB equivalents, but probably only for a few extra megs a month.

But in general, anything that normalizes data services and makes pricing competitive for them will be a good thing for us as consumers. As using a cell for a large call volume became common, carriers drastically improved the effective cost per minute in most countries. Hopefully as data becomes a reality for common people, it will become more affordable also.

[rdowns]

Was this report from the Department of Redundancy Department? Of course the iPhone promotes greater data use. It comes with an unlimited data plan plus many of the users had no data plan on their previous phones.

In other news, rain clouds produce rain.

[skunk]

Originally Posted by rdowns

Was this report from the Department of Redundancy Department? Of course the iPhone promotes greater data use. It comes with an unlimited data plan plus many of the users had no data plan on their previous phones.

In other news, rain clouds produce rain.

Besides which, it's the only phone which actually makes it a pleasant experience to surf the web, so of course it's going to encourage data use.

[Xtoo]

I agree. The iPhone is the only phone that really got me to make the jump to smart phones. I looked at all the -at the time- available phones and hated them all. I liked none of them. Period.

Then the iPhone comes out and BAM!!!! bought it the first day. I have to say that I have not stopped using it and has really ease a lot of troubles in life including bank transfers, maps, traffic, biz email, web research and so on.

Definitely an increase from 0 to 50Mb data in less than 6 months for me.
And thank God I disposed of the hideous Razr!!!!

[NAG]

This just in, mouse encourages computer usage. More at 11.

[Manj27]

Interesting bit of research undertaken on behalf of O2 - and no doubt meeting with Steve Jobs shortly before Macworld may mean that rumours of Apple announcing positive iphone numbers at the event may be true...... another interesting bit fro the article is the comment relating to 3G based N95 users significantly using less data than 2G iphone users.....

FRONT PAGE - FIRST SECTION
iPhone users reaching out for mobile data services, says O2.
By ANDREW PARKER
441 words
24 December 2007
Financial Times
Europe Ed1
Page 1
English
(c) 2007 The Financial Times Limited. All rights reserved

Buyers of Apple's iPhone have turned out to be voracious users of electronic mail and other data services, giving network operators hope that the much-hyped device will finally unlock billions in mobile advertising revenue.

After years of false dawns for operators, the use of mobile phones for web surfing is on the verge of becoming widespread in Europe and the US, and iPhone research by O 2 shows the device is acting as an important catalyst for such activity.

Matthew Key, who becomes chief executive of O 2 Europe next month, told the Financial Times that 60 per cent of the company's iPhone customers in the UK were sending or receiving more than 25 megabytes of data a month, the equivalent of 7,500 e-mails without attachments or 25 YouTube videos.

By comparison, less than 2 per cent of O 2 's other UK customers on monthly payment contracts use more than 25MB a month.

"Here's absolute proof that if you get the proposition right, customers will use data," said Mr Key, who reached a deal with Apple for O 2 to be the exclusive UK network operator for the iPhone.

Mr Key last week flew to Apple's Cupertino headquarters in California to discuss the research with Steve Jobs, the US computer company's chief executive.

The iPhone is on sale in the US, France and Germany, as well as the UK, and will launch in Asia next year.

iPhone customers in the UK pay flat-rate monthly tariffs of up to Pounds 55 that give them unlimited data usage.

However, O 2 hopes the iPhone will give a significant boost to the mobile advertising market, which Informa, the research firm, estimates will grow from Dollars 2bn (Euros 1.4bn) now to Dollars 11.3bn by 2011. Operators want to take a big chunk of that revenue.

O 2 's iPhone research relates to use of data services on the operator's 2G mobile network. The main criticism of the iPhone is that it does not run on a 3G network, which would ensure faster web browsing.

However, the O 2 research found that customers who have Nokia's N95, the Finnish handset maker's nearest equivalent to the iPhone, which runs on 3G networks, access markedly less data compared with those using the Apple device.

The 2G flaw is also ameliorated by the way iPhone also runs on wi-fi networks, which offer faster browsing speeds than 3G.

[MacsAttack]

Originally Posted by Manj27

Buyers of Apple's iPhone have turned out to be voracious users of electronic mail and other data services, giving network operators hope that the much-hyped device will finally unlock billions in mobile advertising revenue.

Data services at a sane cost i.e. fixed rate and unlimited = Good

"...unlock billions in mobile advertising..." = Not on my phone you don't.

After years of false dawns for operators, the use of mobile phones for web surfing is on the verge of becoming widespread in Europe and the US, and iPhone research by O 2 shows the device is acting as an important catalyst for such activity.

Decent browser/mail + close to sane mobile data charges = People use it.

Calling Captain Obvious!

"Here's absolute proof that if you get the proposition right, customers will use data," said Mr Key

Captain Obvious! Please pick up the green courtesy phone!

iPhone customers in the UK pay flat-rate monthly tariffs of up to Pounds 55 that give them unlimited data usage.

As opposed to the obscene rates O2 was charging its customers before the iPhone came out. Plus the above 55 pounds also included calls, texts, and Cloud WiFi access. In a month of usage, I would have been paying way more than 55 pounds if O2 had not been forced to adopt a more reasonable flat rate model similar to that T-mobile already were providing.

However, O 2 hopes the iPhone will give a significant boost to the mobile advertising market.

How? Are they going to spam my e-mail? Are they going to insert advertising on every web page I browse? Cold calling? People are not going to stand for this kind of rubbish.

O 2 's iPhone research relates to use of data services on the operator's 2G mobile network. The main criticism of the iPhone is that it does not run on a 3G network, which would ensure faster web browsing.

I have not found it to be a significant limitation.

However, the O 2 research found that customers who have Nokia's N95, the Finnish handset maker's nearest equivalent to the iPhone, which runs on 3G networks, access markedly less data compared with those using the Apple device.

Ahhh... See, the key here is that the iPhone, from a technical standpoint, is not anything that revolutionary. However Apple's true genius is in interface design and integration. The iPhone and iPods "lack" features found on similar devices, but the interface makes what is left far more usable. So people use them. A lot. And like it.

If nothing else, succeed or fail, Apple have given the mobile phone industry a major kick up the backside. In the end everybody - even those who never touch an iPhone - are going to benefit.

[aridon]

An awesome browser that renders a million times better than the other crap on the market will do that.

Once the mobile OS developers copy it i might ditch as that is pretty much the primary reason i even use the phone. Most else can be done better on WM IMO.

[Glenny2lappies]

At last the mobile device has a decent front end; is it a surprise that people are using it on the go? And given that the (massively overpriced) contract includes unlimited data usage... this story should be filed under "no sh*t Sherlock".

Journalists eh!

[BanjoBanker]

I use my iPhone in a totally different manor than my old Razr. I send and receive e-mail, check movie times, get directions and generally utilize all the aps. My cellular usage has gone down a little, because people I used to call and leave voice mail for, I now text. My life is different with an iPhone.

[legacyb4]

I asked a buddy who has an iPhone to track his monthly usage; on average, he's uploading about 10MB and downloading about 150MB per month.

[pedroistheman]

well there's no limit on the EDGE usage, so obviously people are going to use the internet more than when it was limited or non-existent.

[solvs]

I never used to surf with my old phone, but do so all the time now with my iPhone. If you build it (and don't charge too much) they will come. Would be nice to be a little faster though.