In the 15 months since its release, the iPad has gone from zero presence to creating 1% of all Internet traffic around the planet. In the United States, the iPad accounts for 2.1% of Internet traffic. While these numbers aren't huge, they are still significant.

The trend clearly points out how mobile Internet use is taking hold not just in the United States, but everywhere. NetMarketShare reports that 5% of browsing sessions around the world now come from mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones. In the United States, that number jumps to 8.2%. This includes all iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Symbian, Windows Mobile, and Java ME devices.

Breaking things down by platform:

-- The iPhone has the highest share of mobile browsing in the United States, with 2.9% of all Internet traffic and 35.2% of all mobile Internet traffic.

-- Google's Android platform follows with 2.6% of all U.S. Internet traffic and 31.6% of all U.S. mobile traffic.

-- The iPad has 2.1% of all U.S. Internet traffic, and 25.5% of all U.S. mobile traffic.

-- BlackBerry devices have 0.57% of all U.S. Internet traffic and 6.9% of all U.S. mobile traffic

-- Symbian, Java ME, and Windows Mobile each has less than one-tenth of one percent of global Internet traffic and less than half a percent of U.S. mobile traffic.

-- Desktops and laptops together make up the remaining 94% of Internet traffic worldwide, and 91.8% in the United States.

Comparing either the iPhone's or Android's presence on the Internet to BlackBerrys should have RIM worried. The iPhone generates five times the Internet traffic that BlackBerrys do, and Android generates four times the traffic that BlackBerrys do. With such a small share of Internet use in the United States, it's obvious that people prefer to access the Internet from devices other than BlackBerrys. There are any number of reasons for this. The iPhone and most Android devices have larger screens than BlackBerrys do, they have more robust browsers than BlackBerrys, and both iOS and Android have tens of thousands more applications that make use of the Internet in order to function.

Bottom line, tablets and smartphones are changing the way we access the Internet. While the vast bulk of Internet access still comes from computers, mobile use is already at 5% globally and 8% in the United States--and the numbers keep climbing.

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