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According to statistics released yesterday by Bango, when it comes to the most popular phones for browsing and buying content on the mobile web worldwide, the iPhone sits outside the top 20. The Bango Top 20 handset list, based on Bango’s February statistics, puts the Nokia 3110c on top, followed by the Samsung M800 in 2nd and the Nokia 6300 in 3rd. The iPhone appears as 24th on the list.

This data represents the activities of major brands and businesses as their consumers browse to mobile websites (measured by Bango Analytics) and buy mobile content and services (as measured by Bango Payment). The Bango’s stats will be of interest to businesses that monetize their mobile content and services across a wide demographic as spending by iPhone users is restricted to the Apple App Store.

Bango detected a total of 1,811 different types of handsets accessing the mobile Internet in just one month. The Bango chart shows that smartphones account for 30% of handsets in the Top 20; to view the full list go to http://bango.com/support/top20handsets.aspx

“The iPhone has done a lot to encourage people to browse the internet on their phones,” says Ray Anderson, CEO of Bango. “But to get the most out of their mobile marketing spend, companies who are riding the iPhone wave, attracted by its excellent features and user demographics, need to optimize their mobile websites for all phones – especially those in Bango’s Top 20 handset list. Without this, they will be missing out on the mass market”

This is particularly true for businesses with a mobile website who want to give their mobile visitors a great user experience optimized for their mobile device, as well as those selling mobile content and services.

Marketers need to choose their best channel to market and consider sales projections from the leading manufacturers. Based on the number of handsets projected to be sold by the end of 2009, outside of Japan and Korea, Nokia is the leader with sales of the S60 likely to reach 300m, followed by Windows Mobile and iPhone at 40m, RIM at around 25m and Google around 5m..