Apple devices hit cafe sweet-spot

Nearly 50 per cent of devices used to access free wireless across inner city Melbourne and Sydney run Apple operating systems, according to ISP Unwired.

While Windows operating systems top the list of devices used on its service at 48 per cent, Apple devices, including Macintosh (19.95 per cent), iPhones (18.69 per cent) and the iPod Touch (7.88 per cent) collectively made up 46.52 per cent.

Unwired's figures were based on a Google Analytics report covering a week-long period to 7 June 2009 in which the internet was accessed over 17,000 times at 350 cafes and bars across Melbourne and Sydney which offer patrons free wireless internet access. The figures did not include repeat access by the same device.

Unwired spokesperson, David Havyatt, said the apparent over-representation of Macintosh operating systems, in particular laptops, could be skewed because of the growing prevalence in the consumer market for Apple's laptops.

But according to technology analyst firm IDC, Windows laptops still dominate by a long mile, representing about 90 per cent of shipments to Australia. Apple laptop shipments to Australia for the first quarter of 2008 made up just 8 per cent of the total while its desktops came in at 7 per cent of the total in that category.

Also, in the second half of 2008 just over 216,000 iPhones were shipped to Australia, which represented 12.5 per cent of all smartphones, according to the analyst firm. During the same period, 150,000 iPod Touches were shipped. IDC telco analyst Mark Novosel said updated figures for the first quarter of 2009 for the two devices were due in the coming week.

Other operating systems in Unwired's figures paled in comparison to those made by Microsoft and Apple. Nokia's operating system, Symbian, made up just 3 per cent of devices used to access the internet, and Linux just 1.8 per cent, while Google's Android represented a mere half a per cent.