iPhone not so hot for mobile internet, says Bango

Mobile payments firm Bango has released new research claiming that iPhone isn't that popular when it comes to browsing and buying content on the mobile web.

In fact, it doesn't even make it into the company's Top 20 list of handsets, coming in at a woeful 24th place. Top dog is the Nokia 3110c, followed by the Samsung M800 and Nokia 6300.

Let's dig into those results, though. Bango's chart is based on what handsets are being used to browse mobile websites (measured by its Bango Analytics platform) and buy mobile content and services (measured by its Bango Payment platform).

But hang on:

1. Most iPhone users are browsing regular websites, not mobile internet sites.

2. iPhone users can't buy mobile content (ringtones, games, etc) from anywhere other than the App Store / iTunes.

So it's no surprise that iPhone doesn't figure highly in Bango's chart.

We're not ragging on Bango, however. Its survey does make a valuable point to the kind of businesses it's hoping to sign up as customers for its service.

"The iPhone has done a lot to encourage people to browse the internet on their phones," says CEO Ray Anderson.

"But to get the most out of their mobile marketing spend, companies who are riding the iPhone wave, attracted by its excellent features and user demographics, need to optimise their mobile websites for all phones - especially those in Bango's Top 20 handset list. Without this, they will be missing out on the mass market."

Anderson has written a blog post giving more details on this.