Mobile Usage Soars For Internet, Ad Forecast To Hit $2.6B

Tablets have become the consumer's fourth screen, especially among those with smartphones. Techies with smartphones continue to use tablets at a higher rate. T

hose in the United States -- at 17% -- are among the highest, followed by Japan at 11%, and the United Kingdom at 10%, according to Google. The data appears to fall into line with AdWords tools allowing marketers to add Wi-Fi ad targeting. Google also added the ability to target by mobile operating system in AdWords. The research -- which Google conducted in two phases during 2011, in January and February followed by September and October -- finds consumers shifting from feature phones or smartphones for Internet access. In fact, they use smartphones more than desktop or laptop computers in the U.S., UK, Germany, France, and Japan. Germany had the biggest increase in smartphone owners using their device for daily Internet access, jumping from 39% to 49%. Japan had the highest percentage accessing the Internet daily on their smartphone, at 88%. A little more than two-thirds of smartphone users in the U.S. -- and more than half of smartphone users in the UK -- access the mobile Internet daily. Research firm eMarketer estimates mobile advertising spending in the U.S. reached $1.45 billion in 2011, up 89% from $769.6 billion in 2010. This year, U.S. mobile ad spending will grow 80% to $2.61 billion.