Motally is a mobile analytics firm that tracks mobile website and application usage.  Each month, we report on top devices by region in terms of mobile website traffic, data that is collected by our patent pending technology.  In addition to our regular December report, this month we have included information on device operating system to get a larger sense of what types and categories of devices are responsible for the most mobile website traffic.  While results from the U.S. aren’t shocking, a few global trends did arise that will be particularly interesting to any brand, agency or enterprise that wants to cater to customers around the world.

Mobile Web:  Device neutral, larger global footprint

The data in this report is based on worldwide pageviews of mobile websites tracked by Motally in the month of December.  Not surprisingly, Apple and RIM top the list and are responsible for over 60% of traffic in five of seven regions.  Interestingly, Blackberry has a regional advantage over Apple and is the top manufacturer in four of seven regions, and is in second place in two of seven regions.  We attribute this number one ranking over Apple primarily to a larger selection of Blackberry devices.

Mobile Website Market Share, by Operating System

Source:  Motally, December 2009

Note:  Feature phones are defined as internet-enabled devices that do not run an Android, Apple, Danger, Palm, RIM, Symbian or Windows Mobile operating system

Another finding worth pointing out is the dominance of Symbian over Windows and Android in all regions outside of North America.  Anyone familiar with the industry knows that Nokia has repeatedly stressed the importance of developing nations in their overall strategy (a strategy that Samsung and Motorola have recently echoed as well).  The data shown here seems to support Nokia’s position that developing countries will help Symbian devices gain global market share.  It will be interesting to watch whether Android devices will move up in the coming months.

However, probably the most interesting trend in the data is the large amount of mobile website traffic that is done on feature phones, particularly in regions like South America, Asia and even Europe.  While feature phones aren’t a major component of U.S. mobile websites, they are responsible for over 20% of traffic in Europe, and for over 40% in Asia and South America.  These are important numbers as these regions house the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China), which many economists believe will be major drivers of global economic growth in coming years.  Given this data, it is hard to ignore feature phones when they play such a prominent role around the world.

Currently, mobile applications are on the rise and provide consumer brands the opportunity to engage fans with interactive content while promoting their products and increasing brand awareness.  However, with over 100,000 applications available from Apple alone (and more being developed on Android, Blackberry and other platforms every day), brands face the increasingly difficult challenge of developing an application that stands out from the rest.  Also, the fact that smartphones only comprise about 18% of global device penetration means that consumer brands focused solely on developing mobile applications are leaving out a huge audience of nearly 1.5 billion potential customers who do not have smartphones.

What this means is that marketers and product managers that work for consumer brands need to utilize the entire mobile “toolbox”, which includes mobile websites and mobile applications.  Each tool in the toolbox has its unique strengths and should be created with an appropriate goal in mind.  Applications are a great way to engage consumers in fresh ways, but mobile websites have their purpose as well and should not be ignored.  For one thing, mobile websites are relatively simple to implement.  Most companies have an existing website that can be easily optimized for the mobile web.  Mobile websites are also “device neutral” in that they can be viewed on any device, as opposed to mobile applications that need to be designed for specific platforms.  In that respect, they provide core information to the largest possible audience and should be considered an essential channel for any brand marketer who desires an international presence.

Top Devices by Region

Below are the top devices by region.  The data is presented in list format, as well as a table that summarizes the number of top devices by operating system.  Note, this is the first month where we have seen an Android phone make it into the Top 10.

Number of Devices in Top 10, by Operating System

Top 10 Devices, by region