Fixed Mobile Convergence

It might not be a "man bites dog" story, but it probably is close: the BlackBerry OS overtook Apple's iOS for the first time in the U.S. market in November 2010 in terms of mobile Internet usage, according to StatCounter (News - Alert). StatCounter Global Stats reports that for the first time, the BlackBerry OS represented 34.3 percent of U.S. mobile Internet usage, compared to the Apple iOS share of 33 percent in November 2010.

That is significant because BlackBerry (News - Alert) users historically have been less-avid mobile Internet users than either Apple or Android users. One might hypothesize that what is changing is the compsition of the user base. Over time, sales have shifted from enterprise to consumer users, and it appears consumer users are more-active mobile Internet users, in terms of volume of consumption. 

Google's Android has almost tripled its share of mobile Internet actvity from 8.2 percent in November 2009 to 23.8 percent this year. Apple's (News - Alert) iOS has fallen from 51.9 percent to 33 percent over the same period. 

These figures suggest that developers should not be developing solely for the iPhone to the exclusion of BlackBerry and Android, said Aodhan Cullen, CEO, StatCounter. If current trends continue, BlackBerry and Android combined are on course to become twice the size of iOS as regards mobile Internet usage in the next year.

BlackBerry's U.S. lead is not happening elsewhere in the world, given the dominance of the Symbian (News - Alert) operating system in many other markets. Globally Symbian OS leads with 31.9 percent share of mobile Internet activity, followed by iOS (21.9 percent), BlackBerry OS (19.3 percent) and Android (11.6 percent).

It might also be worth noting that most observers consider the United States the "leading" market for new smartphone-related applications and device trends. BlackBerry's usage growth suggests Research in Motion already has escaped its "business user" niche and has rapidly become a "consumer" segment device as well. 

Windows Phone 7 is too early in its release cycle to register yet, but the new Microsoft (News - Alert) operating system is arguably crucial for that firm if it is to gain a foothold in the smartphone market.