Meraki: Internet usage via handheld devices soars

(Credit: Meraki)

Meraki, a known mesh network provider, released Tuesday its first Wireless Census for North America and the results, though dramatic, seem nothing of a surprise. Basically, there has been a huge increase in the number of wireless-capable devices, among which Apple's handheld devices had the biggest jump.

The Meraki Wireless Census surveyed 10,000 randomly selected Meraki access points deployed in North America for two 24-hour periods: June 2, 2008, and June 1, 2009. The study measured the number of distinct client devices that sent probe requests in each 24-hour period. The purpose of the survey was to identify macro-level traffic and end-user device trends.

In details, the number of mobile devices including laptops and handheld devices grew from some 149,000 in 2008 to more than 211,000 in 2009, a 41 percent increase.

Apple's devices played a huge role in this increase. The company's Internet-enabled devices now account for 32 percent of all devices, represented in the survey, in 2009, compared with only 14 percent in 2008. The survey also showed that the popularity of Apple laptops, iPhones and iPods increase an impressive 221 percent just in one year.

Other than Apple's products, there have been an increasing amount of Wi-Fi-enabled handheld devices from other well-known vendors. According to the Meraki's census, the number of Research In Motion (RIM) devices, best known for the BlackBerry smartphones, observed in North America grew by 419 percent from 2008 to 2009, while Nokia devices grew by 114 percent.

In 2008, RIM devices represented just two percent of all devices observed, but grew dramatically to 8 percent for 2009. In 2008 and 2009, Nokia represented one percent and two percent of all devices, respectively.

These shifts in types and numbers of wireless devices are to be expected. In the past few years, more and more highly Internet-capable smartphones have been introduced and more and more Web services are tailored for mobile users.

Personally, while I wish the survey was done in larger than 24-hour periods, the trends seem right and definitely represent the way I access the Internet. Apart from sitting at work writing on my desktop, when on the go, my almost exclusive way to access the Internet is via my iPhone.

How about you? How often do you access the Internet via your phone? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.

[monkeyfun14]

"Meraki: Internet usage via handheld devides soars"

I think you mean devices.

[ngodong]

Yes and fixed. Thanks.

[jaguar717]

This is a pretty important distinction. Lumping in laptops with phones makes the data significantly murkier. And that's without even getting into netbooks (surely still a tiny tiny percentage, but the growth rate would show whether they're a big deal or not).

What these data say is that the growth rate for (iphones + ipods, oh yeah and why not mac laptops) is significantly higher than that for (Intel devices--IE the entire laptop market). Well duh. True smart phones are a rapidly growing market with little saturation while laptops are a very established market with very high saturation.

Separating out laptops vs. phones would yield usable data. And really, you can drop the laptop part because who really cares? Lots of people have laptops; they're nothing new. Maybe look at netbooks alone to see if there's real growth happening there or if they're still a niche.

As for phones, obviously the iphone has huge numbers in addition to growth in the past year, but being able to compare it directly to other smart phones like the Windows Mobile phones, HTC/Androids, Pre, and Blackberries (though the latter are a pretty mature & saturated market) would be much more valuable.

[ballmerisanape]

About 80% of my casual internet usage is spent on my ipod touch. More and more websites are creating full-feature "mobile" versions.. which makes it easier.. but RSS on Safari is very slick.. not to mention all of the news gathering apps out there. From shopping on Amazon to checking the weather.. to Facebook.. it's very convenient to just use my ipod.

[SprSynJn]

I just purchased an HTC Magic last month and have found myself maxing out my monthly packet limit in a week. While the majority of my internet time is spent on my MacBook, my Android smart phone has definitely taken a place in my "roaming" usage. Very handy when directions or hours or operation are needed. When you find yourself with nothing to do, why not check Facebook or your favorite site while waiting for that friend? Loving my new phone in other words.

[sgornick]

> The study measured the number of distinct client devices
> that sent probe requests in each 24-hour period.

Probe requests from a device are to tell what access points are within range. Do iphones send probe requests only when the user is explicitly trying to connect to an access point, or will it send the probe request without the user doing anything?

[Retirefund]

Being in the "Boomer" generation, my online access is almost always from my desk top, however my son and his wife, and their friends, all access the net from their smart phones. They also have notebooks and use them but I find more and more it is their blackberry's they use for access.

Do you know the outlook for wifi usage worldwide over the next, say, 5 years?