China Trumps U.S. in Mobile Internet, App Use

A greater portion of Chinese mobile subscribers are accessing the Internet via mobile devices than users in the U.S., according to a report from The Nielsen Company. Research conducted by the measurement firm also suggested more Chinese users download mobile applications and make use of mobile instant messaging services than their U.S. counterparts.

Although mobile devices are only just reaching widespread penetration in China, Nielsen found 38 percent of mobile subscribers there claim to access online content on a monthly basis, compared with just 27 percent of subscribers in the U.S. In addition, 20 percent of users in China claim to download mobile apps and 23 percent use mobile instant messaging products, compared with 18 percent and 16 percent of U.S. users, respectively.

China also surpassed the U.S. in terms of text message usage, with 86 percent of users there using SMS services compared with 64 percent of U.S. subscribers. Two areas in which the U.S. continues to outpace China in terms of adoption, however, are location-based services and e-mail.

Nielsen’s research was based on face-to-face surveys with 4,946 consumers age 15 and up in 19 cities around China. The interviews were conducted in March 2010.