New research from Kantar Worldpanel reveals that almost half of the UK population now owns a smartphone. Of the new device sales, half are Android, almost a quarter Blackberry and 18.5 per cent are iPhone devices. These figures did roll in two days prior to the release of Apple's iPhone 4S, however, so expect a marked change in the next set of data.
These figures are encouraging when looking at application growth and usage of smartphones in general business. As the number of users reaches increasing significance, smartphones become just as viable as any other medium for delivering core new services, having a positive effect on the usefulness of the devices.
We do wonder what effect this is having on the UK's 3G data network, with 3 close to running out of bandwidth and performance in congested areas already suffering for all networks. With the roll-out of 4G well over a year away perhaps this rapid adoption isn't the best of news.
Figures also showed that 70 per cent of all mobile phone sales are now smartphones, a significant rise over recent years, though research company Gartner says that although the number of smartphones is on the rise, many are still using them as "glorified feature phones" and that handset companies need to do a better job of educating consumers of the features that are available as opposed to focusing on advertisement of the hardware spec.
As for operating systems, Android appears to have fared the best, seeing its share about double from this time last year, an advantage stemming from being widely available on handsets from most manufacturers. Though Kantar has shown that Android customers are fairly loyal, with 62 per cent sticking with the OS when they change phone, the OS's promiscuity and standardised interface makes it much easier for consumers to be less loyal to the handset makers themselves.
Both Nokia and Sony Ericsson have suffered market-share losses, according to the report, but both are now on the warpath with Nokia's strong step forward with its new Windows Mobile smartphones and Sony's recent buyout announcement of Sony Ericsson to bring devices back in-step with the core business.
With iPhone 4S figures yet to filter through and the effects of Nokia and Sony's new strategies to be felt, we look eagerly forward to the next round of research.
