Traffic to Google from the iPhone mobile device has reached impressive levels despite its relatively low market share, it has been reported.According to statistics published in the New York Times, traffic to the search engine provider from Apple's handset surged over Christmas, surpassing that from all other types of mobile device.
Although the numbers have subsequently slipped somewhat, leaving iPhone traffic to Google behind devices powered by the Nokia-backed Symbian operating system, they have remained above all other types of handset.
This is particularly noteworthy because IDC research indicates that the iPhone accounts for just two per cent of the world's smartphone market, the New York Times adds.
Meanwhile, phones powered by Symbian have a 63 per cent share of the market, while those powered by Microsoft's Windows Mobile enjoy an 11 per cent slice and those running the BlackBerry system have a share of ten per cent.
According to Vic Gundotra, a vice president at Google who oversees mobile products, "consumers are going to demand internet browsers" of the quality of Apple's iPhone.
He added that web browsers as capable as the iPhone could prove advantageous for developers of mobile software who have struggled to adapt their programmes to different types of phones.
Last week, rival search engine provider Yahoo! announced it is to open up some of its mobile software and services to external programmers and publishers in a bid to make its mobile offerings more useful.
