Mobile email bigger in India than US

Smartphone users in urban India have outnumbered their American counterparts in accessing emails and social networking sites using mobile phones, a new study revealed.

Smartphone users in urban India have outnumbered their American counterparts in accessing emails and social networking sites using mobile phones, a new study revealed.

According to a survey of 5,000 Indians in metros, conducted by Google along with market research agency Ipsos and the Mobile Marketing Association, 56% smartphone users access the internet multiple times a day as compared to 53% in US. India has less than 50% of US's 245 million smartphone users.

The study also revealed that 81% Indians use smartphones for checking their emails as compared to 73% in the US. Also, 76% Indians use their smartphones to log on to social networking sites as against 54% Americans.

'Mainstream Indians are technology-curious and device-savvy. They prefer going online on their mobiles. Internet is making the leap from being wired to mobile,' said Lalitesh Katragadda, country head-India, Products for Google.

The study found that people in the age group of 18 to 29 years are the highest smartphone users in India.