An Australian Interactive Media Industry Association (AIMIA) report has detected a slump in mobile internet browsing.

Despite this, the December 08 quarter recorded a pre-Christmas surge. The industry enjoyed a swell, with browsing up 17.3%. AIMIA assumed this was related to gift sales and additional uptake of the iPhone.

AIMIA found the growth tempered in the first quarter of 09, slumping to 6%.

A major question that has been circulating within the digital industry since the beginning of the year has been around how the global financial crisis would affect consumer browsing via mobile, said AIMIAs Mobile Traffic Trend report. The data clearly shows a dramatic reduction in mobile browsing in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the last quarter of 2008.”

AIMIA stated the industry as a whole faired exceptionally well given the ongoing economic instability. The report found total growth for the six months between October and March to be 24.4%.