Generation Y chooses the mobile Web

Results from 300,000-person survey published in new State of the Mobile Web report

Oslo, Norway — November 24, 2010

Most 18-27 year-old Opera Mini users use their mobile phones to browse the Web more often than they use a desktop or laptop computer for the same purpose, according to the results from a survey released today by Opera. In Nigeria, South Africa, and Indonesia, over 90 percent (%) of so-called Generation Y users said they use their mobile phones more than desktop or laptop computers to access the Internet.

Interestingly, the countries (namely Poland, Germany, United States, and Brazil) with the highest percentage of respondents using desktop or laptop computers as the primary means of Internet access were countries where smartphones are among the top handsets used. In Nigeria, South Africa, and Indonesia, however, more than 9 out of 10 respondents said they browse the Web on their handsets more than they browse on a laptop or desktop computer. Looking at the top handsets used by Opera Mini users in those countries, we notice fewer smartphones (compared to Poland, Germany, United States, and Brazil). This result presents a challenge to the long-standing belief that smartphone uptake will be the major driver of mobile web usage globally.

The findings are published in Opera’s State of the Mobile Web report. The full report is available from http://www.opera.com/smw/ (English only). This month’s report includes results from in-depth profiles on the top 20 countries for Opera Mini usage, a spotlight on mobile-browsing trends in Russia and the CIS countries and a look at how much money consumers can save using Opera Mini.

The Mobile Web and Generation Y

This report highlights the previously unpublished data surrounding mobile and Internet lifestyle choices and attitudes among Opera Mini users in various countries around the world. Specifically, we focused on results from users in the United States, China, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Russia, South Africa, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Vietnam, Brazil, Germany, and Poland. These countries represent major and/or emerging markets in terms of Opera Mini usage.

We were particularly fascinated by the mobile/Internet lifestyle choices and attitudes shared by users between the ages of 18-27, which happens to be the largest group of Opera Mini users. Please view the report for specific answers to 21 questions about attitudes and preferences about the mobile Web and related technologies.

Some highlights:

Almost 90% of respondents in the United States aged 18-27 have used their phones to share pictures. Of the profiled countries, Vietnam — at 67% — had the lowest use of mobile phones to share pictures.
Respondents in the United States are least likely to have asked someone out on a date via SMS (44%). Respondents in China (84%), Germany (84%) and Vietnam (83%) are most likely to have used SMS texts to ask someone out on a date.
Generation Y in both China and the United States share a disdain for printed newspapers. 53% of respondents in the United States and 57% of respondents in China rarely or never read physical newspapers.
Watch your privacy policies. Respondents in South Africa (49%) and the United States (44%) were somewhat to very uncomfortable sharing their personal information online.

More results can be obtained in the report.

Global trends

In October 2010, Opera Mini had over 76.3 million users, a 7.1% increase from September 2010 and more than 92% compared to October 2009.
Opera Mini users viewed over 41.6 billion pages in October 2010. Since September, page views have gone up 12.6%. Since October 2009, page views have increased 142%.
In October 2010, Opera Mini users generated over 616 million MB of data for operators worldwide. Since September, the data consumed went up by 15.1%. Data in Opera Mini is compressed up to 90%. If this data were uncompressed, Opera Mini users would have viewed over 5.7 petabytes of data in October. Since October 2009, data traffic is up 134%.
Kazakhstan, Belarus, Egypt, the Philippines and Bangladesh all went up in the top 20 countries ranking, while Kenya, Poland and Germany went down in the rankings.

Russia and CIS trends

In Part 3 of this month’s report, we look at countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The top 11 countries using Opera Mini in that region are Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan.
Some numbers: From October 2009 to October 2010, page views in the top 11 countries of the CIS increased by 128%, unique users increased by 44% and data transferred increased by 119%.
Growth rates in the CIS: Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan lead the top 11 countries of the region in terms of page-view growth (2124.9% and 600.1%, respectively). Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan lead the top 11 countries of the region in growth of unique users (517.2% and 211.0%, respectively). Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan lead the top 11 countries of the region in growth of data transferred (1764.8% and 315.2%, respectively). Armenia leads the top 11 countries of the region in page views per user, with each user browsing 1,380 pages on average each month.
Among the countries of the CIS, the most popular sites include Vkontakte, Yandex, Odnoklassniki.ru, Google, and Mail.ru.
We looked at the top 10 handsets used in each of the top 11 CIS countries. Out of the 110 total handsets listed, 100 of them were Nokia, 5 of them were Sony Ericsson, 2 of them were Samsung, 2 of them were LG, and 1 was Apple.

What we say

“We have often said that the next generation will grow up knowing the Web mostly through their mobile phones,” said Jon von Tetzchner, Co-founder, Opera. “We see this trend already emerging in different regions around the world. The mobile Web will bring a profound change in how we connect with one another. I think the results from this survey already show that change taking place.”

State of the Mobile Web report archive: http://www.opera.com/smw/archive/

About Opera Software ASA

The worldwide World Wide Web — any device, any platform, any bandwidth, absolutely anywhere in the world. Opera Software was founded in 1994, based on the idea that access to the web should be a universal right. 250 million people (and counting) use the Opera web browsers for computers, mobile phones, TVs and other connected devices. Opera also delivers tools, distribution, engagement, monetization and market insights to developers, publishers and brands around the world. We are passionate about breaking down barriers, so everyone can share in the power of the internet. Our vision of one web for all remains at the heart of what we do, because we believe that participation changes everything. Opera Software ASA is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol OPERA. ‘Opera’, ‘Opera Software’, ‘Opera Mini’ and the ‘O’ logo are trademarks of Opera Software ASA. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Learn more about Opera at www.opera.com.