Lies, damn lies and mobile browser market share reports
Just in case you read about the latest Net Applications browser market share report and the .09% share that the iPhone got, I wanted to jump in with a reality check as the Apple zealots are making my ass itch with their usual idiocy. I mean, it's great to hear the iPhone is doing well... mobile Safari is the best mobile browser bar none and shows the true power of the mobile internet - if you think otherwise you're an idiot (or have never used it).
However, that said, if you believe any of those wonky mobile stats, you're also an idiot.
Here's a clue: There's more Symbian smart phones alone than there are computers with OSX installed, and people don't buy smart phones because they want more complexity in their life - they buy them for things like powerful mobile browsers. For other handsets, there's something like 20MM Opera mini users floating around out there as well, with over a billion unique page views a month passing through their servers. This doesn't count other smartphones, phones with decent internal browsers, and even the bazillion cruddy OpenWave browsers out there still.
In short, the Net Applications numbers are completely, totally, and without question, bullshit.
God knows what those guys were measuring, but whatever it was, it obviously didn't have anything to do with mobility, mobile browsers or actual mobile browser usage.
Just FYI.
-Russ