Apple’s iPod touch over the last four days has almost tripled its share of the browser market compared to the first 24 days of December, according to a Web metrics company.
Net Applications reported that the browser share for the iPod touch averaged 0.17 percent between Dec. 25 and Dec. 28, nearly three times the average of 0.06 percent for the period from Dec. 1 to Dec. 24.
The iPod touch is the only model in Apple’s music player line that can connect to the Internet via its Safari browser. The device, which starts at $229, is nearly identical to the iPhone, lacking only the smart phone’s ability to make and receive calls, and to connect to a mobile carrier’s data network. iPod touch users can connect to the Internet via a wireless access point, such as those in many coffee shops and airports, or by using a home, schoo,l or company wireless network.
The surge in share may have come from iPod touch players given as holiday gifts, although Net Applications has noted previously that all browsers except for Microsoft’s Internet Explorer tend to increase their share during weekends, evenings, and holidays. The phenomenon is caused by users leaving their work computers—the bulk of which run IE—and running alternative browsers on their home computers or other devices.
Apple’s iPhone also boosted its browser share in the last four days, Net Applications’ data showed. Since Dec. 25, the iPhone’s share has averaged 0.65 percent, a jump of more than 50 percent from the Dec 1 to Dec. 24 average of 0.42 percent, and an increase of nearly 76 percent over its November share