May 19 , 2009

Young Canadians fuelling online anytime revolution
More than one in four browse the web from their mobile phones

Canadians are becoming captivated by “mobile surfing” and increasingly accessing the web from their cell phones and smartphones daily, according to a poll conducted by Ipsos-Reid.

The poll, conducted on behalf of Rogers Wireless showed that 26 per cent of wirelessly connected Canadians aged 18-34 are accessing the web from their mobile devices everyday, and of that, 65 per cent are browsing from their mobiles multiple times a day.

The study found that 70 per cent of wirelessly connected Canadians are accessing the mobile internet for personal email, compared with just 11 per cent in 2008. Thirty-six per cent of respondents used their mobile devices to search for information, up from just seven per cent in 2008.

In addition, more than one quarter are browsing the web from their mobiles at least once a day, with half of those accessing popular social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter directly from their mobile devices.

The poll was commissioned to support the launch of Rogers’ HTC Dream™ and HTC Magic™ smartphones set to debut soon in Canada.

“The Internet is a huge part of our everyday lives - especially younger

Canadians who want the web all the time,” says John Boynton, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Rogers Wireless.

Research conducted by Ipsos-Reid showed that 70 per cent of wirelessly connected Canadians surfing the web on their mobile phones are checking personal email, and nearly one in three mobile surfers are using popular tools like maps and search.