Tablets, smartphones capturing more web traffic

Mobile devices, such as tablet computers and smartphones, are steadily increasing their web traffic share as they continue to become more popular in consumer and enterprise sectors.

According to a study from market research firm comScore, "non-computer" devices accounted for 6.8 percent of US web traffic in August 2011. This is a small but notable increase from the previous quarter, when tablets, smartphones and other connected devices represented 6.2 percent of web traffic.

Tablets alone made up 2.2 percent of web traffic in August. According to comScore, common tablet use covers a range of activity, including news consumption, "real-time" social networking and shopping. The report notes that communication activities were also popular, with three out of four tablet owners using their devices to check email.

The tablet has proven to be a game-changing technology across the field, impacting everything from shopping and gaming to education and workplace computing habits. According to research firm Gartner, nearly 300 million tablets will be shipped in 2015. As shipments increase, the tablet's influence will continue to grow.