Apple iPad accounts for one per cent of global web browsing

Apple's hugely popular iPad now accounts for one per cent of web browsing worldwide, and over two per cent in the US, according to the latest figures from market watcher Net Applications.

The firm's NetMarketShare report shows that the tablet hit the milestone last month, having grown its share gradually since August 2010, with only a slight decline in growth from January to February 2011.

The news will be a welcome boost for Apple after its successful attempt to prevent rival Google from winning an auction of key patents relating to mobile technology from Nortel Networks.

Net Applications also released research showing that smartphone and tablet platforms taken together now account for over five per cent of all browsing worldwide.

There is no breakdown for specific platforms on a global scale, but the iPad and iPhone taken together account for five per cent of web browsing in the US, while the Android platform comes a distant second with 2.6 per cent.

RIM's BlackBerry platform comes in third with 0.57 per cent, followed by Symbian in fourth and Windows Mobile in fifth.

However, most commentators agree that the Microsoft platform has great potential for growth.

Despite some hiccups with the first NoDo update, there is already great anticipation for the Windows Mobile Mango refresh in the autumn, and analyst firm IDC predicts that the platform will become the second most common after Android by 2015.

The Google OS will take over as the leading smartphone platform in 2011, IDC said, although the Net Applications figures show that it still has some way to go to displace Apple's iPad in the tablet space.