iPhoners are online junkies, sleep early

Australian owners of Apple's iPhone 3G download significantly more than users of other mobile phones, view more Web pages and spend more time on each page according to a study of mobile internet usage by industry analysts Amethon Solutions.

The study, which collates data from Amethon's client base, shows iPhone users downloading an average of 2.07MB of data per browsing session, with internet use by owners of other mobile phones averaging at 0.30MB per session. While a part of this increase can be attributed to iPhone users spending longer online, the main contributing factor is that the iPhone accesses desktop versions of websites more frequently, rather than being redirected to a data efficient mobile Web page.

"iPhone owners are very likely to be surprised by incredibly high data usage," says Amethon CTO James Cleary. "Our belief is that many will adjust their browsing habits as the novelty wears off."

The data usage in the report represents downloads from viewing Web pages and does not include streaming video through sites such as YouTube, or the data used downloading software via Apple's App Store.

One quirky fact that has appeared in the report is that iPhone users are more likely to browse the internet earlier in the morning, but not as likely to be browsing late at night. Mobile Web browsing on other mobile handsets experience a sharp peak at around 10pm, while iPhone Web browsing remains consistent, and lower, from mid-afternoon to the evening.

What's the deal with iPhone users getting up and going to bed early? What happened to the idea that iPhone owners are uber-cool party people, laughing in the face of the concept of time and work? If you've got an answer to explain this interesting statistic be sure to drop us a line on the forums, or leave a comment below.