back to article Mobile beats desktop traffic

In something of a sign of the times, smartphone and tablet traffic has overtaken desktop web browsers. According to StatCounter, in October mobile and tablet data accounted for 51.3 per cent of internet usage worldwide whereas desktop traffic was just 48.7 per cent. We're kinda surprised it hasn't happened already. A graph …

  1. MrDamage Silver badge

    I wonder..

    How much of that data is simply ad traffic which is free and easy to block on PC, but often requires paid-for apps on mobile devices?

  2. Tim Seventh
    Joke

    Mobile beats desktop traffic

    New research has shown that over 50% of the mobile traffic is caused by facebook mobile background notification process.

    Oh a new friend request!

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Netflix is 50% of all business internet bandwidth consumption in the US during the working day

    but Netflix on a mobile phone consumes much less bandwidth...

    This illustrates why those stats might be a little misleading as they may mean that the desktop usage is 10-fold exaggerated compared to the mobile usage.

  4. Mikel

    An important milestone

    The transition to mobile is here. Surprised it took so long.

    The pee sea can't dry fast enough to suit me.

  5. Dan 55 Silver badge
    Meh

    From an open web to little apps each with their own walled data garden

    Apparently that's progress.

  6. Jeffrey Nonken

    It's the Negroponte Switch in action.

  7. A K Stiles
    Coat

    Desktop / tablet ?

    So what counts as a desktop versus a tablet?

    Are they analysing user agents for web requests, or something to do with screen resolutions?

    Does a 12" tablet count as a tablet but a 12" eeepc (remember them?) as a desktop?

    Lies, damn lies, statistics and report headlines!

    (mine's the one with the latest election polling figures in the pocket... no, for our parish council referendum - Don't be silly, we don't have a president!)

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