How hot is mobile communications these days? Extremely, according to Internet marketing über-specialist Aaron Goldman, who recently cited a number of information factoids to back up his contention:
There will be ~5 billion mobile devices in use by 2012. That’s the equivalent of ~70% of the world’s entire population.
Penetration of smartphones has now reached ~38% in the United States … and higher in Europe and Asia.
The average smartphone user in the U.S. and U.K. has 23 mobile apps on his or her phone. (In Japan, it’s even higher at 45 apps.)
Four out of five smartphone users use their phone to shop or research purchases while they’re in the store.
Even more interestingly, ~43% of mobile Internet usage actually happens at home. Evidently, the desktop being mere steps away isn’t as convenient as whipping out the phone to get the needed information..
Mobile makes up ~20% of all searches on Yahoo, which translates into ~528 million Yahoo searches on mobile devices every month. (Google isn’t far behind, with ~15% of its searches on mobile.)
Mobile is clearly making strides in the local market; just under 30% of all mobile search queries are ones with “local intent.” For desktops and laptop PCs, only about half of that proportion are “local.”
And Goldman has another interesting stat to share: Nearly 40% of smartphone users access the Internet while using the lavatory.
Now, when Internet surfing takes over from bathroom reading … that’s proof above all else that mobile has definitely arrived!
Nones Notes 