Apple iOS Owns Mobile Browser Share At Over 61%

Apple's iOS platform may no longer be the most commonly used in smartphones, but take into account tablets and the platform not only has the most market share but makes up the majority of mobile/tablet web access, according to the latest stats. Browser counters Net Applications have crunched hits on their network of tracking customers and reckon that, as of October 2011, iOS accounted for 61.64-percent of mobile browser use. In comparison, Android languished far behind at 18.9-percent.

Java ME takes third place, with 12.84-percent – a slump from over a quarter of browser hits less than a year ago – while Symbian's performance is even more dreary. Browser use has apparently more than halved since December 2010, down from 8-percent to 3.48-percent. BlackBerry dipped to 2.48-percent and fifth place.

The stats are gathered from approximately 160m monthly hits across its partner network, Net Applications claims, along with search engine referrals. Android and iOS are constant rivals in terms of "biggest, brightest, best" metrics like browser share, app availability and downloads; last month, it was announced that iOS led the field in mobile ad impressions, but that Android devices saw more apps downloaded.