(via Nielsen)

The Nielsen Company released its most recent Mobile Insights on China report with some interesting findings. In short, mobile phone ownership is a rather new trend, but China has surpassed their American and European counterparts when it comes to using technology; mobile technology. The main purpose for the Chinese mobile owner is accessing the mobile web.

Nielsen found that there are 755 million mobile phone subscribers in China today, which is more than half of the population. This makes China the world’s largest mobile device market. The report revealed that 38% of Chinese mobile subscribers access the Internet, despite less advanced networks; only 27% of American mobile subscribers access the Internet. The report found no difference in male and female users; men made up 51%, while women comprised 49% of users. Ages 25-34 and 35-44 made up the largest percentage of users at 23% each. These numbers show just how China has embraced mobile technology.

Mobile Phone Interaction: Chinese vs. American

The majority of Chinese mobile owners, 54%, use their devices for advanced data such as gaming, email, and music. 36% used their phones for voice only and text/SMS; 10% used their mobile devices for calls only.

When compared to Americans, Chinese mobile consumers interact with their devices much more. 86% of Chinese owners sent text messages, compared to 64% of Americans; comparatively, they instant messaged more often too (23% vs. 16%). Furthermore, while on the go, Chinese accessed the mobile web more than Americans; 38% vs. 27%. Americans did outpace Chinese owners in both accessing email (25% vs. 8%) and sending picture messages (37% vs. 22).

Americans and Chinese differ in the mobile subscriptions they choose, among everything else. In China, nearly 87% of mobile consumers use pre-paid plans, where most Americans prefer subscribing to post-paid plans (20%). Moreover, Americans, more than Chinese, used applications that were bandwidth-intensive such as video messaging, mobile video, and content uploads, which is due to the widespread developments of 3G in the US. Americans also visited an array of websites, although automotive, health/fitness, and education/employment sites were more popular in China.