Because WM doesnt have a built in youtube app. How the hell is business going to get done if you cant see a dog skateboard?

It's because the iPhone only uses slow old EDGE, and WM Phones use super fast 3G...

Oh hold on, you'd expect WM to be thrashing iPhone Safari in that case...!

Must be because the web experience on WM sucks compared to Safari on the iPhone, and hence, even though there are presumably millions of old WM phones out there, their users gave up on trying to web-browse.

WM? Whoa who cares about WM when Symbian and Linux rule the roost :p

@MINI Driver: No, actually, It's because people on WM have a more open platform, and are using alternate browsers as well....

It's pretty easy, inf act, it's stupid easy to browse on the iPhone. It's the main feature I use that I never used before on any of my previous Blackberry/WM products.

@Mandatory_Field: These results were tracked according to the device being used, not the browser.

It's because all the phone carriers charge about 3 times the price to search the internet unlimited with windows media devices, than on the i-phone.

@ruggels: Yep.

Winmo browsers suck.

I'm not a rabid fanboy, I own a pocketPC and a Touch so I get to use both platforms regularly. The PocketPC wins as a PDA...but the touch is what I fire up when I need to browse a page but am too lazy to boot my laptop.

Isn't is surprising that a slower EDGE based device (which generated much whining and contention because it was EDGE) still manages to rack up more page views than faster 3G/EVDO devices?

It's probably because IPhone users are more likely to surf the internet, whereas WM mobile users are business oriented and predominantly use the mail app.

My Mom has a WM phone and she couldn't browse to a web page if I gave her $50. I'm betting there aren't too many iphone users like that.

When I used to have a wm5 smart phone it was painful to use the internet browser. Now with my iPhone it's easier than ever! /advert

@apt94jesse:

I was just about to hit on this. People who buy iphones are not buying them to accomplish anything besides experiencing a painfully slow internet connection and an "entertainment device" lacking basic features (like MMS).

People who buy WM phones buy them to get things done. Corporate email, blackberry service, VPN, editing docs, almost anything you can do on a desktop you can do on WM today. iphone, don't bother.

I would really like to see a statistic that shows the percentage of cellular data that comes from WM devices. I am willing to bet the iphone isn't even a contender.

Ohh and BTW. Opera mini 4 > Safari. Anyday.

I call bullshit....

How can that be? Think of how many WM phones have been around for years! I know I have always had some form of Opera Mini... Is that why? How can there be more iPhones sold in 6 months than all Windows Mobile phones in what, 4 years?

Crazy stats! Also don't pick on me, just voicing my surprise!

@marmlade

Spoken like someone who has never used an iPhone and talking out of his ass.

The user experience with browsing from an iPhone is just heads and tells better than anything else out there. The user experience for browsing from a blackberry and WM has traditionally be terrible. Why it took the iPhone to get this right I have no idea.

and the fact that most users that dont hack, have to use the browser for any third party app (games, productivity and such. does that count too?

Tells better? I have used an iphone, and you have never used Opera Mini 4, which again, trumps Safari.

What I mean is, I can put Opera Mini and get same same super-cool experince as iphone users. Yes it displays the whole page page and I can pan around with my finger, to where I want to zoom in, and so fourth. Almost identical to the iphone. All the while on my 1.8 MB/s HSDPA connection. I can visit 10 web pages in the time the iphone loads one with the same browsing experience.

@Wegmans: "How can that be? Think of how many WM phones have been around for years!"

As the article states,

"The WindowsCE platform - all of the Windows mobile platform devices put together - only managed 66% of iPhones market share. How many WinCE devices are out there? According to Gartner, MS and its partners shipped over three million Windows Mobile devices in Q1 2007. They've been selling WindowsCE devices since 1996 - over 10 years.

Obviously this doesn't translate to handset marketshare. We know there are much more than 20 million Windows Mobile devices out there. The reason that Apple's browser marketshare is higher while its unit sales are much lower is explained easily by the oft-touted Mobile Safari browser and unlimited AT&T data plan. No guilt, pleasurable, full-browser surfing.

It's not just just Windows Mobile that is getting killed by iPhone. PSP, Playstation and WebTV combined don't even come close. The Sidekick, also, only has 1/5 of the browser marketshare. Symbian? About 1/10th.

And it doesn't stop there. Desktop platforms are starting to come into the iPhone's blast radius. Windows 95 only has four times the marketshare as the iPhone. And Linux, just over five times (.57%). At this rate, the iPhone/iPod platform should be the third largest computing platform by the end of next year. Remember, the iPod touch is only three months old. Oh, and it is Christmas."

The article also included a link to this YouTube video featuring Steve Ballmer from six months ago.

[www.youtube.com]

You shouldn't use your phone to work outside of work. It's bad for the soul.

@MARM0LADE

seriously... do you flameboys just constantly troll the internet looking for any story on apple to start a new flame war??

get a life

i have to carry 2 phones.... an HTC tytn, with opera mini, and an iphone... i was a naysayer about the iphone originally, especially about its lack of 3g, but after using the iphone for a couple days, i made it my primary line, and made the 3g htc second string... they are both on ATT and for web browsing (as opposed to DL'ing large files) the htc is no faster, and the UI for safari blows opera away

opera mini is pretty good for winmo, but you are either a troll or an idiot if you say that it trumps safari....

@rlreif: or he holds a different opinion to you.
Just because you believe something doesn't make it universally true, nor does it make anyone who holds a different opinion an idiot.


The answer has already been covered here: the iPhone is geared up towards web-browsing than most (all?) WM-based devices. Not just the unlimited data aspect but other points like a larger screen, which makes browsing the web less of a pain.
So whilst the speed at which it's surpassed WM-based devices is quite impressive, it was inevitable.

Surprised no one has mentioned the fact that most of the legit "apps" on the iPhone are actually Websites...so anytime you do almost anything on an iPhone, you're "browsing the web", n'est pas?

About Our Market Share Statistics

This data provides valuable insight into significant trends for internet usage. These statistics include monthly information on key statistics such as browser trends (e.g. Internet Explorer vs. Firefox market share), search engine referral data (e.g. Yahoo vs. MSN vs. Google traffic market share) and operating system share (Windows vs. Mac vs. Linux market share or even the iPhone market share vs. Windows Mobile).

We use a unique methodology for collecting this data. We collect data from the browsers of site visitors to our exclusive on-demand network of live stats customers. The data is compiled from approximately 160 million visitors per month. The information published is an aggregate of the data from this network of hosted website statistics. The site unique visitor and referral information is summarized on a monthly basis.

[marketshare.hitslink.com]

@STEP666

actualy i was calling him a troll by saying that he either was a troll or an idiot... not everything is a matter of opinion in this world.... the grandparent poster was either 'talking out his ass' as someone else said, or he is simply flaming.... saying that opera mini is better/faster than safari, is like saying that a ford focus is better/faster than a BMW m5... its not a differing opinion, its just flat wrong

@STEP666

oh and then you basically reinforce what i was saying in the first place by saying that on the iphone "browsing the web [is] less of a pain."

@strangepork: i did.

Why should the iPhone version of the Mac OS be any different than the desktop version in that respect?

It's been a long-standing fact that a higher percentage of Mac users actually go online with their computer than do PC users. Back in the mid 90s until the turn of the century, it was a VERY pronounced difference... something like 85% or Mac users, and 45% of PC users.

It's the same thing with the mobile space now. It's a lot easier and more friendly to surf the web on an iPhone than it is on ANY windows Mobile device. You can expect to see Series 60 creeping up on WinMo too, I'd say.

When the 3G iPhone ships next year, along with 3rd-party apps, the device will be an utter powerhouse of mobile computing.

A bit off-topic, but it always seems to me that people on the internet live in some magical land that is just blanketed in coast-to-coast 3G coverage.

The iPhone has gotten away with 3G rather easily despite the naysayer's predicting doom with a lack of 3g because:

a) 3G coverage is mostly a joke when you take the whole of the United States into account. Mostly limited to a few major locales.
b) EDGE (especially compared to a weak/crap/nonexistent 3G connections) ended up not being all that bad (on average).
c) The battery life boost by avoiding current 3G chipsets is a lot more important to some people than having a 3G connection.

I guess what I'm saying is that Jobs ended up being right. And when the 3G version drops next year it will be double-effective as Apple will have the tons of momentum they have now (compared to if they had waited for acceptable 3G version for launch).

On topic: the best mobile internet interface has the most users. No surprise.

@marm0lade: Nail on the head

I have done 6-8gb a month through my 8525. I don't think the iPhoners do that.

And most my internet is tethered and not on the phone itself.

@marm0lade:

I run a company when on the road with my iPhone - you're comments are complete BS.

I used a couple of WM phones before the iPhone, and I get far more work done with the iPhone, in less time, and with less stress.

Sorry to bust your MS Corp FUD.

As mentioned by some others, I, too, think it's mainly because most WiMo devices have no data flatrate, thus making it unappealing to browse the web with the device. With the iPhone, I suppose it's like "I got a flatrate, why should I not use it?" If I had a data flatrate for my WiMo phone, I'd probably use it a lot more for surfing.

In addition, I can imagine that as websurfing is probably more fun using the iPhone rather than a WiMo device, WiMo people on the go use their laptops while Apple fanboys are satisfied with their iPhones.

Its just depressing how the pocket pc lets you install anything you want and we don't have to wait until February to get a dev kit yet our browsers suck.

Opera Mini comes close... much closer to the whole mobile browsing thing but it still crashes and programs quit on its own (no exp with ipod touch yet). We don't have a decent browser that can handle web 2.0 type features yet. Only WM5+ users can get that youtube streaming, my 2003se can stream a slide show or download save and play in a separate media player but who the heck wants to download and save a youtube file just to go haha to it?

The community behind the hacking of the ipods seem nicer overall... more creative or something. Something about the apple marketing with the think different shines.

Im not sure if im a rare case, but the touch screen of my pocket pc sucks and is horrendously inaccurate. I plan to use that as an excuse to upgrade. Oh and I get about 1.5 hours of battery life if im lucky with my x50v I guess internal batteries of the phone/touch sucks for extended use.

Ow, so you fanboys bought the iPhone to surf the web. Then you really are .01 Especially those that use profanity in their posts to attempt to intimidate other posters. You are a sad .01 bunch for sure. Giz should dump every one of you.

Not to jump off topic here, but can a WM user explain to me the "business" advantages of their device? I mean, I know the integrated email app and the mobile office suite, but are you really editing spreadsheets on your phone? If so, is it a good experience?

Seems to me that anyone in a pay grade that needs to edit spreadsheets on a phone could/would have a laptop to get the job done on a much more efficient interface.

Could be wrong though.

not to mention the fact that all the publicity around the iphone has ment in my town all the apple iphones in stores are constantly in use most of that being teenagers going on porn sites!

@Penchum:

Grow up please!

Unless your post is a 'humorous' attempt to imitate a 5 year old, in which case LMAO

@apt94jesse:

The only WM advantage I've seen is that the IT staff at XYZ corp see it as a no-brainer to 'allow' staff to use WM products, as it's a MS system.

They'll run a mile from anything Mac, until the CEO or CIO wants and iPhone, and then they mysteriously manage to make it all happen.

I've seen exactly that scenario play out - hilarious!

@ronreal: Yep, I gave up on the 30-40 bucks a month for piss poor browsing experience. When I move to Helio next month and the data is included, I imagine that I will use data services quite a bit more.

Mini Driver - You are an idiot. "The only WM advantage I've seen is that the IT staff at XYZ corp see it as a no-brainer to 'allow' staff to use WM products, as it's a MS system.

They'll run a mile from anything Mac, until the CEO or CIO wants and iPhone, and then they mysteriously manage to make it all happen.

I've seen exactly that scenario play out - hilarious! "

Do you know why? Because the CEO bought the phone without consulting the IT department, and will remove anyone who tells him his new toy wont work right on the system. Like it or not, Exchange is the industry standard. IMAP is not. So right now, I have a man who controls my salary sending out badly typed confidential emails because he wants to be able to show off to his skiing buddies. WTF? The reason we run from anything Mac is that any Mac user who is not competent enough to set up and maintain his own equipment simply isnt going to understand the difficulties in maintaining their choice of hardware in our pre-existing system.

Yes, the iPhone has more browser market penetration right now. Pretty much because iPhone users spend more time looking at YouTube and checking out the latest Panther rumors than I do on my phone. I don't like surfing the web on my phone, and it has nothing to do with the UI. It has to do with the fact that I look like an idiot doing it in public, and regardless of how cool the device looks, that simply will not change.

All I know is that when I had Windows CE devices I felt less inclined to browse the internet with them. I'd prefer to boot up my laptop instead.

With the iPhone, I enjoy the surf experience, with the touch magnification and scrolling, active links, you tube player, etc. and it's instant on. So when I have certain house guests over (and you know who you are) that constantly argue with me , it's quick and easy to pull out my iPhone and Google my way to victory. The coolest feature of the iPhone IMO.

I don't want to here any talk about market share until you beat Windows ME. Seriously ME... people still use that? WOW

@Ellomdian:

Thanks for your kind words.

I've always found that helping the people who pay your salary to be a great way of staying employed.

The reason they employee IT staff is to assist them in running a business and making money - not so that those staff can in some way belittle them for not being techs.

Interesting approach anyway - best of luck with it!

@MINI Driver:

Please, do tell how you get "more work done" with your iphone. You cannot edit docs (you can't even copy and paste), and you cannot access the internet as fast as I can. You cannot access exchange email (the gold standard). Nothing productive can really be done with an iphone, besides, as I mentioned, a painfully slow internet experience. To insinuate that you can get more work done on and iphone than a WM phone really displays your ignorance. I think even most apple fan boys would agree.

"Windows 95 only has four times the marketshare as the iPhone." Wow, you Apple fanboys must be proud you only have 1/4 the Internet web site hit rate of Windows 95. I wonder how the iPhones web surfing market share compares to the Commodore 64 or TRS 80. I bet it blows it out of the water. WOO HOO.

Perhaps, most mobile phone users don't want to use the Internet on their mobile phone. Even if they were running a better browser on it. Or that many mobile phone users won't pay the ridiculous data rate to surf on their phones. Naw, couldn't be that, it has to be that Safari is so amazing and the iPhone is just killer.

My favorite thing in this "article" is how web site hit statistics are being used to sound like market share.

@marm0lade:

Interesting - I've actually had 3 WM PDAs before the iPhone, so my comments are based on my actual experience as a business user.

You are quoting marketing blurb, and passing it off as experience - and that's not adding anything useful to the discussion.

I get my exchange Email on my iPhone with zero issues - my IT staff didn't even need to change the Exchange set-up we already had.

I have visual voicemail which means that I can identify callers that have left messages, prioritize, and reach the critical ones first - That single feature makes the iPhone a killer business tool.

I can open and project MS Office docs in meetings, all from my iPhone - that again is a killer business app.

Generating xls and word docs on the road on a phone has never been a business requirement for me - and even though it's 'possible' in WM, the experience sucks so badly that it's useless.

Finally, the UI on the iPhone makes it easy to drive without a damn stylus that always gets lost down the side of the seat in my car, and the battery life on the iPhone far out strips the WM units, leaving me working all day long.

Oh, and I don't have to reboot 4 times a day to keep the iPhone running...