BlackBerry » mobilegroove

Editor's note: This provocative guest column from Andy Bovingdon, Bango VP Product Marketing, takes a hard look at the critical questions publishers, developers and advertisers need to ask themselves as they architect truly effective mobile strategies. Should the Apple iPad, just now coming to Europe, be considered a mobile device (and therefore take a central role in mobile strategy)? Or do other factors beyond technology play a deciding role?

In the run up to launch of the iconic iPad device it's no wonder that the topic has come up in several recent mobile marketing meetings with clients and colleagues alike. The emotional bond – even obsession – with this device is understandable. But the need for hard-nosed business realism (particularly if you are a publisher or marketer aiming to delight your particular customer base or target demographic) is much greater.

BlackBerry retains #1 position on mobile browsing leader board

Bango – the mobile payments and analytics specialist – reports a 600% growth in traffic to mobile websites. The company analyzed traffic to a range of mobile sites over the last 12 months. Data was gathered by sampling across 50 million phone users worldwide who have accessed third party mobile sites through its platform.

The key findings from Bango’s annual mobile usage study record 6 times the number of visits to mobile websites, comparing December 2009 with the same month a year earlier. The average time on site is measured as 3 minutes, 21 seconds, averaged across user visits to all sites, compared with just over one and half minutes the previous year. The analysis also measured the average number of pages viewed per visit at 5 pages, up from just over 2 pages per visit twelve months before.