Another interesting tidbit of mobile goodness. This time, it involves China. The most populated country in the world has not only recently hit the roadways in full force with new cars, but also the internet as well. But it’s the way that they’re doing it that is the most interesting.
The overall penetration rate of China’s internet has grown steadily, from 41.1 percent to 42.1 since the end of 2012, with the majority of that growth coming from mobile devices. Currently, 591 million internet users reside in China, with 464 million of those categorized as mobile users. That means 78.5% use a smart device to go online. Since June of of 2012, this mobile-user subset increased by a total of 4,379,000 users. CNNIC predicted that at the current rate, the total number of internet users in China will reach 800 million by 2015. How many will be mobile then?
70 percent of first-time Internet users since June 2012 went online through a smart device. That’s very significant, since myself and most people I know started out on desktop computers. Maybe it’s just a sign of the times. It also makes sense because 3G cell phone towers and Wi-Fi hotspots are much more easily accessible than wired connections, especially in rural areas where internet access would most likely be unavailable. Most phones and tablets are also cheaper and more portable than laptops and desktops.
Probably the biggest consequence of all this is that mobile apps and websites are flourishing along with more sophisticated businesses and business models. Some Chinese Taxi apps, micro-blogging apps, and chat apps are going through the monetization process since they’re doing so well. There might even be a mobile payment system setup, if there isn’t one already.
Yet another reason why going mobile-friendly is important. No matter what country you’re in.