Apple’s market share may be around the 10% mark for total PC sales while getting nearly a quarter of the notebook sales of late. But like its mind and press share, Apple commands a hugely disproportionate number of the Wi-Fi hotspot users in cafes and coffee shops in the US, according to new data from JiWire. The iPhone and iPod touch combined account for 97.6 percent of all handheld devices at these areas.
The researchers don’t directly explain the reasons behind the Apple bias but do illustrate a typical user that would favor MacBooks. The average hotspot guest is a man between 25 and 49 years old who is financially secure; about 38 percent plan to make a large purchase within the next year.
Of all users, about 85 percent of these visitors are online at least once a week, while 68 percent use it for over an hour. The US leads has dramatic lead in hotspots with an estimated 67,420 versus 28,678 for China and 27,459 in the UK. New York has a slight lead over San Francisco for the largest number of public hotspots at 887 versus 872. The report can be download in PDF format here: http://www.jiwire.com/downloads/pdf/JiWire_MobileAudienceInsights_1H09.pdf
Apple has previously spurred on its use in coffee shops through its deals with Starbucks and AT&T. Starbucks has special section in the iTunes store and lets users who are running iTunes on their laptop, iPod Touh or iPhone see what music has played or is currently playing in the cafe.
