Mobile payment and analytics company Bango has released statistics showing that the BlackBerry is now the fifth most popular mobile phone for browsing the web in the UK and worldwide; and the third most popular in the US, where it accounts for 14% of all mobile traffic. BlackBerry is above all iPhones in the browsing charts, with Nokia remaining the overall global leader with over 36% of traffic seen.
Bango notes that while the Blackberry was once perceived as primarily a business phone, it is  increasingly becoming the preferred handset for consumers wanting to browse the Internet from their phones. The BlackBerry 8330 Curve now accounts for over 28% of BlackBerrys browsing the web.
With all the buzz surrounding the Apple iPhone, and the rush to capitalize on its success, many companies fail to realize that over three times more consumers browse the web from a BlackBerry, says Bango CEO, Ray Anderson. The global Smartphone race is well under way, but it is the BlackBerry that is the Usain Bolt out in front.  
Bango data collected across millions of users accessing the Internet from mobile devices also reveals that the BlackBerry user base is much more likely to use wi-fi as a connection method where available. Some of the newer BlackBerry devices have a wi-fi connectivity capability which makes it easy to locate wi-fihotspots and connect off-net. By default, BlackBerry devices will connect by the RIM proprietary data gateway, but can operate in either mode when the web browser is launched. This makes it challenging for brands and content providers to accurately identify BlackBerry users for tracking, CRM, sales and marketing campaign purposes.
Bango is urging companies to seize the BlackBerry opportunity and start capitalizing on its exponential growth, by ensuring that their mobile sites and campaigns are optimized for these devices. As users become more savvy and switch between their operator network and wi-fi, says Bango, it is vital that companies are able to successfully track their customers behaviour by using a mobile payment and analytics solution that works correctly on all Smartphones. Without this, it says, a significant segment of mobile web traffic will be incorrectly identified making it virtually impossible to sell content and services to these users.