Post PC world – smartphone and tablet usage

Wednesday, September 12th, 2012 Karen Ambrose Hickey, Editor

As Tim Cook is currently saying…this is a Post-PC world.

Our recent Mobile Workforce Report was crammed full of statistics, but we couldn’t fit it all in. Here’s some additional data on the intersection of roaming, Wi-Fi and preferred applications.

Q: Which network do you prefer for mobile application use such as email, Facebook, streaming video etc?

In looking at Wi-Fi vs. cellular, mobile workers prefer Wi-Fi overwhelmingly for email. However, those from Europe and North America chose Wi-Fi more (68%) over Asia-Pacific (60%).

Streaming video, which is increasing in use continually, is most preferred on Wi-Fi. Earlier Mobile Workforce Reports told us that mobile workers appreciated the speed of Wi-Fi.

International calls, which can be very expensive when roaming, are more split. Mobile workers from North America preferred using Wi-Fi, whereas the other regions slightly preferred using 3G/4G networks. This comes as a surprise when the survey shows that more respondents from Asia-Pacific and Europe report exceeding their monthly data plan. Perhaps there’s an availability and usability issue here. Some calls just can’t wait for you to find a Wi-Fi hotspot and get logged in. (Of course iPass connects you to more hotspots, and you can connect automatically!).

Finally, one of our questions asked mobile workers which device they primarily logged into Wi-Fi. Our respondents gently reminded us that this is not an “either-or” question. Yes, laptop, but many people responded that they log into Wi-Fi first with their smartphone; then the laptop. For Europe, smartphone was nearly equal as the primary device.

And as the iPhone 5 is showing better battery, longer talk times, and faster Page loads, these newer devices are the first thing that a mobile worker will want to connect with.

Tags: mobile employee, mobile workforce, wi-fi access