Along with the latest monthly desktop browser stats, market research firm Net Applications also released its latest mobile and tablet browser market share figures.

Apple’s Safari browser might find itself on the fringes when it comes to desktop browsers, but it’s king of the mobile browser jungle, snapping up the lion share (61.19%) of the global mobile browser usage pie, thanks to the popularity of the iPad and iPhone.

Coming in a distant second is the Android browser which accounts for 18.62%, with Opera Software’s Opera mini browser in third, holding a 14.42% stake.  

Research In Motion’s BlackBerry browser as well as the Symbian browser are out on the edges, respectively responsible for a 1.72% and 1.48% share of the mobile browser usage pie.

Despite dominating the desktop browser landscape with its current 52.84% market share, the mobile version of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer only manages to hold down a meager 0.49% browser stake. This can change with Nokia’s adoption of Windows Phone OS.

In related news, Cisco recently released its visual networking index (VNI) global mobile data traffic forecast for 2011 to 2016, which takes a look at developments within the mobile data sector over the next five years.