Average iPhone Consumer Data Usage Pegged at Five Times That of BlackBerry

[MacRumors]

Consumer Reports announced this week the results of a study it commissioned assessing the monthly data usage for customers of Apple's iPhone and other smartphones. The data, obtained from over 1,000 consumer accounts linked to online bill analysis firm Validas, reveals that iPhone users consume an average of 273 MB of data per month, five times that of BlackBerry users and nearly twice that of users of other smartphones.

On average, iPhone users consume 273 MBs of data per month. That compares with 54 MBs for consumer users of Blackberrys and 150 MBs for consumers who use other brands of smart phones, the Validas study found.

The disparity in data usage is particularly evident at low levels, where 80% of BlackBerry and 54% of "other" smartphone users consume less than 50 MB of data per month while only less than 20% of iPhone users maintain such low usage.

Consumer Reports points to the data consumption of iPhone users and the strain they have placed on AT&T's network in the United States as a possible key source of discontent that led to the carrier placing last in the magazine's recent overall and city-by-city ratings.

Article Link: Average iPhone Consumer Data Usage Pegged at Five Times That of BlackBerry

 

[modular]

its funny that cell networks see usage as a bad thing. **** 'em!

 

[SandynJosh]

Interesting! If you make something easy to use, the user will really use it.

My current Moto phone is so hard to use, I don't even try to use it to get on the internet.

 

[Doju]

Wow, really? More than 1GB is in the top 10%? I use about 2GB, so I'm probably in the top 5%.

Streaming internet radio, YouTube, tethering and just using a lot of internet add up quickly.

Love Canada and my $30/unlimited data plan.

 

[Small White Car]

its funny that cell networks see usage as a bad thing. **** 'em!

If AT&T saw it as a bad thing, wouldn't they have turned down the iPad instead of agreeing to be its exclusive provider? Clearly it's going to have even higher data rates than the iPhone. I'd think they'd say no to that if you were right.

Wow, really? More than 1GB is in the top 10%? I use about 2GB, so I'm probably in the top 5%.

You don't have access to ANY wifi? I hop off 3G whenever I get the chance for something faster. I imagine many others are like me, which explains those numbers.

 

[tazinlwfl]

WOOHOO! I use at least double that of the average iPhone user!

 

[macduke]

I'm just amazed that all these companies keep paying money for research about how much internet the iPhone uses. It's a lot! iPhone has been winning ever since at least the 3g model. I doubt that will change in the next year. Shouldn't one report a year be enough? It just seems like every week there is a new story about how the iPhone dominates the mobile web. Seems like a lot of money wasted just to say that the iPhone is amazing.

 

[frjonah]

Maybe it's because the iPhone is such a user-friendly device... even my 16 month old toddler can turn the iPhone on and get to the photos app... he even differentiates b/t videos, which he plays, and photos which he just scrolls through...

For a lot of non-technical people out there, iPhone apps (both built-in and 3rd party) provide typically simple user interfaces for people to do all kinds of things online... the several times I've even tried to use a Blackberry browser, I was tempted to make Blackberry jam out of the device it was so unintuitive... I'm sure that's improved a lot with the "Storm" and other devices more similar to the iPhone, but the iPhone still has so many more apps that consume bandwidth that I would expect this trend to keep up for the foreseeable future.

 

[BryanLyle]

Well, I had AT&T before the iPhone and it stunk then too.

 

[macduke]

WOOHOO! I use at least double that of the average iPhone user!

I typically use 500-600mb. Sometimes higher if I'm on a trip. That's why I wish the iPad's $15 plan was 500mb instead. But it isn't, so I doubt I'll get the 3g model. Plus the only reason I think my iPhone totals are that low is because I have WIFI at home, school, and work. I'm usually at one of those locations 90% of the time. I suspect this is true for other people too. Some days I turn off WIFI for whatever reason--usually because Mediacom sucks and is going 300k even though I pay for 12mbps. Then I'll switch over to 3g completely. It's so fast here on AT&T; I get 4-5mbps. So sometimes I forget to turn WIFI back on because 3g is so amazingly fast. So that will occasionally spike my amounts up to around 1gb if I leave it off for a few days.

 

[irun5k]

The iPhone typically accesses the full version of any given web site. e.g., it is downloading the same amount of data as a user at home on a 23" iMac and 20 mbit/sec. connection viewing the same site.

(1) Do some web servers automatically redirect other mobile users to a simplified mobile page, WAP, etc?
(2) If not (1), do other mobile users intentionally access the simplified versions of sites?
(3) Are there compression technologies at play for some mobile users- e.g. , e.g. proxy server in the middle?

These statistics don't necessarily mean that iPhone users are "using" their phone for more time than a Blackberry user. I'm not saying it doesn't mean that- but we'd need to see different statistics to know for sure.

 

[ULFoaf]

Reason

Internet on iPhone = good experience
Blackberry = not so good an experience

 

[Peace]

I reset my usage stats each time I get a new bill. On the 3rd of each month.

I've used 35MB so far this month. That averages out to about 116MB.
Of course I have access to a lot of WiFi in Portland. It's everywhere. The city even has it's own free network.

 

[bobr1952]

Not included--those lazy souls (like me) hanging out on the sofa watching TV and surfing the net with their iPhone via wi-fi.

 

[scottness]

That's about right. I use my iPhone way more than I ever used my BlackBerry.

Let's hope ATT can come out ahead sooner than later, being that they're still the exclusive carriers.

 

[craigc1264]

A big flaw in this study is personal use vs. business use. Most blackberrys are for businesses. And most people don't use a business phone like they would a personal phone.

 

[SFStateStudent]

I've never used a Blackberry to connect to the internet. I tried to make a call and answer a call on a BB, but failed miserably....

 

[NorrisKillsKids]

I had a blackberry with a data plan and I never ever ever used the browser. Alright maybe once or twice in the year that I had it.

It was just so terrible and inconvenient. Basically just went on MSN, that's about it o_0

 

[Small White Car]

A big flaw in this study is personal use vs. business use. Most blackberrys are for businesses. And most people don't use a business phone like they would a personal phone.

How is that a flaw? They said iPhones use more data, and they do. It's just a smiple fact, nothing more.

What's the flaw?

 

[jupp0r]

its funny that cell networks see usage as a bad thing. **** 'em!

I totally agree, if roads are congested you extend them. Instead of investing in their infrastructure providers complain and tell people to drive less often.

 

[lethalOne]

A big flaw in this study is personal use vs. business use. Most blackberrys are for businesses. And most people don't use a business phone like they would a personal phone.

Try reading the whole article....

FTA: The data, obtained from over 1,000 consumer accounts

 

[countrydweller]

Internet on iPhone = good experience
Blackberry = not so good an experience

That's one of the reasons I switched from my BB 8820 to the iPhone, it use to freeze up on many sites.

 

[OneMike]

You don't have access to ANY wifi? I hop off 3G whenever I get the chance for something faster. I imagine many others are like me, which explains those numbers.

With 12 days left in my billing cycle the ATT app is reporting 3568MB usage.

3G is pretty quick in my frequent areas, but even when I'm in a wifi location I never use it anymore. Including home unless using vnc or sync 1password or something.

Why pay $30 a month for something and not use it?

I don't tether. Mainly stream music to phone on way to and from work and when out so technically my data would probably be the same anyway.

 

[pavelbure]

i'm close to 5gb this month. I mostly average 4-5 gb. Streaming music does that for me. I live in the suburbs where I hardly ever see a smartphone.

 

[jcook793]

All this and more in this month's Duh Magazine.