According Nielsen China Mobile Report that mobile consumers in China have surpassed their American counterparts when it comes to using the devices to access the Internet (38% of Chinese mobile subscribers compared to 27% of American mobile subscribers), despite less advanced networks.

To gauge where this important market stands – and where potential opportunities lie for retailers, device manufacturers, service providers and content producers – The Nielsen Company has just released its most recent Mobile Insights Report on China.  The report offers a glimpse into just how powerful the opportunity is to satisfy the needs of mobile Internet users in China.  These are just some of the highlights.

Who is Using Mobile Phones and What Are They Looking For?

Today, there are 755 million cell phone subscribers in China – more than half of the population. That makes China the world’s largest mobile device market.  That number will (of course) only rise as the populace becomes more affluent.  Nielsen found that the split between the sexes was almost equal: women comprised 49% of users while men made up 51%.  Adults aged 25-34 and 35-44 made up the largest percentage of users (23% each).

China versus the U.S.: How usage differs

Even though Chinese have less 3G network coverage and own fewer smartphones, they tend to use their mobile phones to access the Internet while on the go more than Americans (38% vs. 27%).  Health/fitness, education/employment,  travel and tourism sites were more popular in China than in the U.S.  Chinese also texted (86% vs. 64%), and instant messaged (23% vs. 16%) more often.  Meanwhile, Americans used their mobile devices more than Chinese for e-mail (25% vs. 8%) and picture messaging (37% vs. 22%).