Report: Mobile Devices To Surpass PCs in Web Access by 2015

By 2015 more end users will access the Internet through a mobile device than a PC, according to a new report from the International Data Corporation (IDC).

In the cross-sector research report, "Worldwide New Media Market Model 1H-2012 Highlights: Internet Becomes Ever More Mobile, Ever Less PC-Based," IDC predicts that users accessing the Web from PCs will shrink from 240 million today to 225 million in 2016. Over the same four-year period, the organization predicts mobile access to rise from 174 million to 265 million. The United States is at the front of the migration to mobile devices for Internet access, with Western Europe and Japan about two years behind, according to the report.

Karsten Weide, program vice president, Media & Entertainment at IDC, said in a prepared statement that the trend is happening because PCs were "never truly" products for end users.

"Many consumers use them because there was no better alternative," Weide said. "Now, with the huge and growing installed base of more user-friendly tablets and smartphones, there are."

Other key findings of the report include:

  • A nearly five-fold projected increase in mobile advertising from $6 billion last year to $28.8 billion in 2016;
  • A 14 percent drop in the share of users accessing social media via PC, from 66 percent this, to 52 percent in 2016; and
  • Business-to-consumer mobile commerce will grow to $223 billion by 2016, approximately six times as large as it was in 2011.

For end users "mobile Internet usage is already beginning to displace PC usage," Weide said. "There has been much talk about how the future of the Internet will be mobile first and PC second. In the United States, that future is now."

More information about the report is available at idc.com.

About the Author

Joshua Bolkan is contributing editor for Campus Technology, THE Journal and STEAM Universe. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  •  classroom scene with students gathered around a laptop showing a virtual tour interface

    Discovery Education Announces Spring Lineup of Free Virtual Field Trips

    This Spring, Discovery Education is collaborating with partners such as Warner Bros., DC Comics, National Science Foundation, NBA, and more to present a series of free virtual field trips for K-12 students.

  • A child surrounded by glowing, fluid virtual patterns and holographic shapes, illuminated in a dark gradient environment of blue, purple, and pink.

    ClassVR Gets Expanded VR/AR Content Library

    Avantis Education has announced a new content library for its ClassVR virtual and augmented reality platform. Dubbed Eduverse+, the library features four content suites — EduverseAI, WildWorld, STEAM3D, and CareerHub — that can be tailored to suit a variety of educational levels.

  • robot typing on a computer

    Microsoft Unveils 'Computer Use' Automation in Copilot Studio

    Microsoft has announced a new AI-powered feature called "computer use" for its Copilot Studio platform that allows agents to directly interact with Web sites and desktop applications using simulated mouse clicks, menu selections and text inputs.

  • glowing futuristic laptop with a holographic screen displaying digital text

    New Turnitin Product Offers AI-Powered Writing Tools with Instructor Guardrails

    Academic integrity solution provider Turnitin has launched Turnitin Clarity, a paid add-on for Turnitin Feedback Studio that provides a composition workspace for students with educator-guided AI assistance, AI-generated writing feedback, visibility into integrity insights, and more.