Use of mobile devices for internet access accelerated last month. It is unlikely that total online activity rose by 100% year-over-year last month, so PC activity must have lost momentum

A study by Opera Software, which has the mobile browser with the largest market share said:

In October 2010, Opera Mini had over 76.3 million users, a 7.1% increase from September 2010 and more than 92% compared to October 2009. Opera Mini users viewed over 41.6 billion pages in October 2010. Since September, page views have gone up 12.6%. Since October 2009, page views have increased 142%.

The age of the smartphone arrived about two years ago as the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone and smartphones with the Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) Android mobile OS began a period of extraordinarily rapid growth.

Makers of standard PCs and broadband services do not have as much to fear as they might if they were located in Third World nations. “In Nigeria, South Africa, and Indonesia, however, more than 9 out of 10 respondents said they browse the Web on their handsets more than they browse on a laptop or desktop computer.”

There is a bifurcation of smartphone use between the developed world and markets which are still in the early stages of economic development. Part of that may be due to the fact that in poorer nations smartphones are more affordable than PCs. The divide also extends to mobile users by age. It appears the greatest mobile internet activity is by those under 27 years old.

What is at question is whether the US will follow the path of nations like Indonesia, especially as ultra-fast 4G become the standard for mobile communication. Much of US internet use is for multimedia consumption and data transfers. These actions are done on PCs due to necessity now. PCs have access to landline broadband which is ten times faster than current 3G services. The smartphone is crippled now by the speed with which it can access the worldwide web.

“Over the course of three weeks, more than 300,000 Opera Mini users responded in what we believe is the largest global survey of mobile web users ever conducted.” The users were 18 to 27 years old, according to Opera.

Douglas A. McIntyre

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