THE NUMBER of people using mobile devices to connect to the internet is increasing in Slovakia.
“Working with the internet has been moving onto mobile devices,” said Igor Tóth, marketing director of O2 for the residential segment, as cited in the company’s analytical material. “We still use desktop computers, especially in offices. At home we prefer surfing on a laptop, but we are reaching more and more often for smart phones and tablets.”
According to Tóth, this is a long-term trend linked with a change in consumer behaviour and the importance of these devices will, in the future, along with the development of LTE mobile connection, continue to rise steeply.
While in 2011 only 13 percent of mobile phone users joined the internet via a mobile, nowadays this is as much as 51 percent, the O2 Analytics report states. Three years ago, only 1 percent of the users surfed the internet with a tablet, while today it is 23 percent. The trend in the usage of desktop computers is inverse; the percentage of the users reaching the internet via a fixed-line decreased from 72 percent to 60 percent over the last three years.
Users use the internet on their mobile for information searches (74 percent), e-mail (74 percent) and social networks (73 percent). Almost one half of all mobile internet users also use weather forecasting services. The users also like to visit news portals (43 percent) and maps or navigation (42 percent). More than one half of the users reach for the mobile in case of a need for contact with friends and relatives (57 percent) and in emergency situations (55 percent). For 54 percent, a mobile connection is a regular source of entertainment.
“Mobile devices seem to get more life along with the development of social networks, apps and content,” said Tóth. “When working with the internet, they most often serve for a fast search for information, contacting friends and relatives, or entertainment. Thus, thanks to increasing opportunities, the mobile phone is becoming a kind of a remote controller of our life.”
