Individuals are increasingly using their mobile phones in order to access the internet, new research has shown.
According to the latest International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide New Media Market Model, consumers are turning to their smartphones ahead of logging on to their PCs to browse the web.
It was shown that this trend is being led by users in the US, with people in Western Europe and Japan around two years behind.
The number of people using their mobile phones to access the net is expected to rise in America from 174 million to 265 million between 2012 and 2016, with those doing so via computer likely to drop from 240 million to 225 million.
Karsten Weide, programme vice-president of Media and Entertainment at IDC, noted: “In the consumer world, mobile internet usage is already beginning to displace PC usage and the United States is leading this trend.”
The expert said there is currently much discussion about how mobiles will replace computers as the internet access option of choice for many people in the future, with the US already seeing plenty of evidence for this.
