Wireless network provider Boingo Wireless notes that 58.9 percent of the total audience on its network in airports is made up of handsets and tablets, with the iPad alone accounting for 23.5 percent of these. While the recent growth of smartphone sales has surely contributed to this trend, Apple’s iPad may be just as big a factor; much of the mobile device growth Boingo has seen is from June 2010, or two months after the introduction of the original iPad.

In terms of smartphones, Apple’s iPhone is the most used device for Wi-Fi on Boingo’s airport network, with 42.1 percent of usage, or nearly four times as much as Android smartphones. Some other key takeaways:

• Average megabytes per month used by mobile devices is now 211 MB, or nearly double the 114 MB used on average in May of 2009.
• The corresponding megabytes used per minute is up as well: 0.89 MB vs 0.37 MB two years ago.
• Network usage on mobile devices equaled that of laptops in airports just this past February, indicating the trend is continuing to accelerate.
• While laptops outnumber mobile devices in terms of potential user audience by a factor of five, mobile devices now account for nearly 60 percent of Wi-Fi network usage.

I can remember wading through a sea of laptops while waiting for flights a few years back, but Boingo’s data roughly corresponds to what I see now: about half of those surfing the web at the gate are doing so on iPads and smartphones, with just an occasional sighting of an Android tablet.

I’m flying out this Sunday heading to our Mobilize event, and I’ll be sure to take a closer look at who’s using what while prepping for my flight. For the record, I’ll be packing my iPad for use in San Francisco, but I’m more likely to use my 7-inch Galaxy Tab at the gate and on the plane.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• CES 2012: a recap and analysis
• 12 tech leaders’ resolutions for 2012
• What to watch in mobile in 2013

Unlike the Boingo monthly subscriptions plans — I pay for and use the $9.99 monthly service on a regular basis — Boingo Wi-Fi Credits appeals to the casual web surfer. Consumers simply purchase one or more credits as needed. Each credit purchased is good for 60 consecutive minutes of wireless access, and unused credits are banked for up to a year.

The first credit is free upon installing the Boingo Wi-Fi Credits application, and Boingo adds one free credit with a block purchase of 10. Customers can use the Wi-Fi at any of Boingo’s 30,000 U.S. locations or 125,000 worldwide hotspots, although the software is only available in the U.S. for now. Boingo’s service is typically found at major airports and chains like Starbucks. Boingo says other countries will see the software in the near future. The application also provides a mapping service, making it easy to find hotspots in the Boingo network.

At first, I thought Boingo’s new product would have less appeal to those with a Wi-Fi + 3G iPad model as AT&T is offering free Wi-Fi with the iPad’s “magical and revolutionary” 3G monthly service. But what if you decide not to use 3G on your iPad for a month? You’ll have to rely on free hotspots, or leverage AT&T’s Wi-Fi On the Spot product — it, too, offers pay-per-use Wi-Fi, but costs $3.99-$7.99 per session. For $1.99 an hour, Boingo’s solution offers a cost-effective alternative. If you have an iPhone on AT&T’s network, you’re already paying for a 3G connection and receive free Wi-Fi at AT&T hotposts, but iPod touch users stand to gain here as well.

Related research on GigaOM Pro (sub req’d):

Hot Topic: Apple’s iPad

The move follows an agreement inked earlier this year that provides Verizon Wireless Business fixed-line broadband subscribers with service through Wi-Fi hotspot operator Boingo Wireless. And it allows Verizon to better meet the demands of the data card users that account for a disproportionately massive amount of traffic on mobile networks. That offloading will be crucial as Verizon’s data traffic ramps up thanks to the Motorola Droid and other high-end gadgets — a lesson AT&T has learned the hard way with Apple’s iPhone.

Image courtesy Flickr user Adventures in Librarianship.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• 12 tech leaders’ resolutions for 2012
• A look back at mobile in Q1
• A near-term outlook for big data

• Starting today, visitors to Times Square in New York City will be able to get free Wi-Fi on their computers and mobile phones, courtesy of Yahoo. If you log in from your mobile phone, it is going to take you to http://m.yahoo.com. On a computer, you end up at a Yahoo page filled with ads.
• Google is offering free Wi-Fi access on Virgin America through Jan 15, 2010.
• eBay is sponsoring free Wi-Fi on 250 flights on Delta Airlines during the week of Thanksgiving. Wi-Fi users will get access to the eBay home page and an invitation to shop there.
• Microsoft is working with JiWire to give away free Wi-Fi in premium hotspots in hotels and airports as long as they use Bing for search via their connection.
• Google is giving away free Wi-Fi in 47 airports across the U.S., including hubs such as Miami, Seattle, Houston and San Jose, Calif. The promotions will last through Jan. 15, 2010.

Google, from the looks of it, is using Boingo Wireless’ network. The Los Angeles-based hotspot operator today announced a new sponsored access program that will allow brand advertisers to engage with Wi-Fi users.

Wi-Fi usage has been on the upswing recently, thanks to the rise of smartphones, especially the iPhone. Whether it is airports or cafes, people are increasingly logging onto Wi-Fi networks. “People are creatures of habit and one of the goals of this campaign is to open people up to new ways of finding what they are looking for on the Internet,” said Jeff Bernstein, senior vice president at UM (the agency formerly known as Universal McCann). “JiWire’s media channel serves our goal because it gives people an incentive to try Bing and let the engine speak for itself.”

Given that many of the estimated 100 million travelers who will spend time in airports with Google-sponsored Wi-Fi will at some point in time encounter Google ads, the decision is more than a nice gesture. Google providing access to free Wi-Fi is kind of like publishing those free magazines littering coffeehouses. It’s all about the ad revenue.

A typical free Wi-Fi campaign from Boingo offers travelers 15-20 minutes of complimentary Internet access in exchange for watching a 30-second video, by which the user is engaged directly with the brand. Other opportunities to engage consumers include lead generation, product and service trials, social media applications, location-based searches, customer surveys and downloadable content, Boingo noted in a press release.

Giving users something in return for their attention is a smart way to engage with an audience, which increasingly glosses over display advertising. It’s a welcome development, one that strikes a better balance between the needs of a marketeer and the end user (and potential customer).

It’s also a recognition of how important Wi-Fi is in the quest for constant connectivity, especially as more and more folks tote around WiFi-enabled smartphones. With 70 minutes spent behind the security gates at airports on average, everyone from business travelers to harried parents looking for a kid-friendly diversion can now find something online. That’s all good, but one can imagine it’s going to get a lot harder to find an empty power outlet this season.

Photo courtesy of Yahoo

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Social third-quarter 2012: analysis and outlook
• Social media in Q1: commerce and discovery dominated
• Q4 Wrap-up: SOPA and the future of digital content