JAKARTA/KUALA LUMPUR: The mobile web continues to make strides across emerging Asia, with research from Indonesia and Malaysia highlighting strong consumer demand for the service.

A report from Inmobi and Decisionfuel and separate research from OMD Malaysia and Pulse Group indicate that Indonesians and Malaysians are increasingly using the mobile web as an alternative to traditional print media and TV.

Inmobi suggested that 82% of smartphone users in Indonesia use the devices as their primary way of accessing the web.

Moreover, 36% of people polled by the firm say they "prefer" to use smartphones, while just 27% say they favour watching TV instead. Average daily usage time for mobile devices is around five hours.

James Lamberti, vice president for global research and marketing at Inmobi, said: "For Indonesians, mobile web time is fun and alone time. This is likely eating into print media.

"Mobile Internet offers a great level of convenience. It is easy to operate."

Meanwhile, OMD and Pulse's online survey-based report showed that just 8% of Malaysian web users still feel "attached" to TV.

Many are transferring their attention to mobile instead. Just over one in four OMD/Pulse survey respondents said they cannot go for longer than half an hour without checking their smartphone.

Almost half (47%) said their mobile screen was the first and last thing they saw each day, while 60% even say their family relationships have improved due to the range of communications services, from SMS to mobile social networking, available on the devices.

Andreas Vogiatzakis, managing director of Omnicom Media, said: "It is not uncommon to see people using their mobile devices all the time these days.

"It has come to an age that we do not consume media, but the media consume us."

Data sourced from Jakarta Post/Campaign Asia-Pacific; additional content by Warc staff