M:Metrics said in a report on Tuesday that the Apple iPhone is the top device for news and information accessed on a mobile browser. The iPhone far outdistances other smartphones for news, Web search, watched video and music. Over 30,000 users were surveyed over a three month period.

The research company reported that 85 percent of iPhone users accessed news and information in January 2008. "The iPhone has certainly delivered on its hype," said Mark Donovan, senior analyst, M:Metrics. "Beyond a doubt, this device is compelling consumers to interact with the mobile Web, delivering off-the-charts usage from everything to text messaging to mobile video."

"M:Metrics found that a staggering 30.9 percent of iPhone owners watched mobile TV or video, versus a 4.6 market average, and more than double the rate for all smartphone users," the report continued. "Usage of social networking is also popular among iPhone users: 49.7 percent accessed a social networking site in January, nearly twelve times the market average. Twenty percent of iPhone owners accessed Facebook, one of the first Web properties to customize its content for the iPhone, versus 1.5 percent of the total mobile market."

Source: M:Metrics

"This data indicates that the iPhone’s widgets are and effective means to drive mobile content consumption," Mr. Donovan added. "Two featured widgets, YouTube and Google Maps are extremely popular among iPhone users: 30.4 percent accessed YouTube and 36 percent used Google Maps. In comparison, only one percent of all mobile subscribers accessed YouTube and 2.6 percent checked out Google Maps."

M:Metrics noted that they were the first to report on the listening habits of iPhone users and found that 74.1 percent of iPhone users listened to music compared to just 27.9 percent of the smartphone audience.

The study showed that iPhone owners, like other smartphone owners, tend to be male, aged 25-34, earn more than US$100K and have a college degree.

These numbers show that Apple’s iPhone has changed the way people use their smartphone. That’s all part of Apple’s plan: change the rules of the game with advanced technology faster than the competition can react.