BlackBerry users nationwide browse the Internet more outside of normal business hours, per a new study from Bango Inc. that may dispel the notion of that smartphone as only a working tool.

Data based on Bango traffic on BlackBerry devices indicate that 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. are the busiest times for mobile Web consumption, according to the mobile analytics and payments company. The growing availability of Wi-Fi is instrumental in this surge in off-hours Web usage.

?There has been a widely held belief that BlackBerry owners used the device to mainly carry out business activities, such as email,? said Bango spokeswoman Vanessa Daly from the company?s Cambridge, England, headquarters.

?But with improvements and new capabilities in BlackBerry models, including Wi-Fi connectivity, means more BlackBerry users are turning to their phones for browsing the Web,? she said.

Hip talk
Wi-Fi and new smartphones models coming into the market have made consumers aware of the ability to use their phones for browsing the Internet for everyday activities, Ms. Daly said.

More importantly, the analysis showed that Web consumption on mobile is not only driven by Apple iPhone or Google Android users.

As measured by Bango, mobile Web activity beyond working hours includes browsing on news, sports and general media sites including newspapers, mobile content downloads and social networking.

The analysis was conducted in March from data that Bango collected from millions of BlackBerry users nationwide.

Besides Web consumption off-hours, the data indicated that weekends are equally popular days for Web browsing on BlackBerry devices, thus aligning the Research In Motion-created smartphone with other rivals such as the iPhone and Android-supported models.

Indeed, Saturday and Sunday Web browsing on BlackBerry phones began two hours earlier than weekday activity, per Bango?s analysis.

Web usage upsurge on rim of business day

This evolving pattern of behavior may cause marketers to rethink how to target BlackBerry users differently. Or maybe not.

?The key thing to ask here is not if marketers should target BlackBerry users differently, but how big is the device's marketing impact ? what is the size, reach and viability of the device?? Ms. Daly said.

?From a marketing perspective, it simply comes down to ROI and this is why it?s key for marketers to know who their audience is,? she said.

Bang-on
Bango in September placed the BlackBerry as the third-most popular mobile phone for mobile Web browsing nationwide when measured by the number of consumers browsing. 

Now, with this new data in hand, does this mean that BlackBerry users on Bango-covered traffic are treating the phone like the iPhone users treat theirs ? a complement or substitute to computers for Internet activity?

?The BlackBerry user base is like any other phone user ? they use the device for Web consumption in the way that's most suitable for them,? Ms. Daly said.

?And as some of the newer BlackBerry devices have a Wi-Fi connectivity capability, which makes it easy to locate Wi-Fi hotspots and connect off-Net, they?re much more likely to use Wi-Fi as a connection method where available,? she said.

So, is BlackBerry on its way to becoming a cross-over device in an era where iPhone and Android devices are the cat?s whiskers?

?BlackBerry has been in the No. 1 position on the mobile browsing leaderboard for a while,? Ms. Daly said.

?In addition to being used for business activities, this new analysis reaffirms that BlackBerry devices are increasingly becoming the preferred handset for consumers wanting to browse the Internet from their phone. Consumers are savvier and will choose to use it as they wish depending on the activities they want to carry out.?