It’s the big, ongoing debate about iPads and tablets: app vs. web. But with more and more third-party browsers appearing, along with higher usage of Google and Bing’s mobile apps, the iPad web browsing world is no longer the sole domain of Safari.
Out of a sample of just under two million iPad impressions across the Chitika network, we found that a solid 6.3% of iPad web browsing occurred outside of Safari – meaning the iPad user browsed the Internet but did it within a third-party app.
Why is this so interesting? Greg Sterling wrote earlier this week on Search Engine Land that not only is Microsoft’s new Bing app a ‘killer’ app for the iPad, but that the line between app and browser is blurring. With Google’s implementation of Chrome OS and the Chrome Store, it appears that the traditional browser – a one-trick pony dedicated to interpreting web pages – is dying fast.
It will be years, if not decades, before we see the full fallout of the iDevices. But for now, it appears that the iPhone and iPad are doing their part to redefine what a computer is, what a browser is, and what kind of Internet-browsing experience users should expect.
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