Network management software company Arieso has published a report that compares data use across smartphones and other mobile-enabled devices. The Newbury-based business says so-called ‘extreme’ users are becoming even more extreme than a year ago, with 1% of mobile subscribers now consuming half of all downloaded data.

Owning a flagship Apple device appears to result in the highest data use. Last year, iPhone 4 users were identified as the most demanding. Today’s report says customers with the Apple iPhone 4S users are the hungriest for data, downloading twice as much data as iPhone 4 owners and almost three times as much as people with an iPhone 3G.

When it comes to uploads, the HTC Desire S was at the top of the list. Users downloaded 3.23 times more data than the ‘benchmark’ iPhone 3G, with the iPhone 4S a close second at 3.2 times more data.

Dr Michael Flanagan, CTO of Arieso and author of the report, said “The introduction of increasingly sophisticated devices, coupled with growing consumer demand, is creating unrelenting pressure on mobile networks. The capacity crunch is still a very real threat for mobile operators, and it looks set to only get harder in 2012. The mobile industry needs new investment and new approaches to boost network performance and manage the customer experience. While the report provides general trends, the studies on which they’re based demonstrate the importance to operators of understanding the increased consumption each type of smartphone brings. Despite stark industry warnings, mobile operators are still playing ‘Guess Who?’ with their subscribers.”

The Arieso ‘Recent Smartphone Trends & the Extreme Data User’ report was conducted using the company’s ariesoGEO product.