Ofcom study highlights growing popularity of smartphones
Author: James Duncan | In: LG| Motorola| Samsung| Sony Ericsson
5 Aug 2011
A new study has offered an insight into the popularity of smartphones in the UK.
In the latest Communications Market Report published by Ofcom, more than one-quarter (27 per cent) of adults were shown to own such a device, with this rising to 47 per cent among teenagers.
And it appears to be over the last 12 months that smartphones have become a really sought-after gadget, with 59 per cent of respondents stating that they got their current model less than a year ago.
Smartphone owners are also indicated as using their device to make calls more often than people with a regular handset. Just over four-fifths (81 per cent) of smartphone consumers reporting they ring somebody everyday, in comparison to 53 per cent of those with traditional mobiles.
Other findings from the report showed 81 per cent of smartphone users keep their mobile switched on at all times, while 47 per cent of adult customers have downloaded an app to their device.
In a recent FT Connected Business podcast, Nicholas McQuire, research director at the International Data Corporation, suggested that smartphones are beginning to overtake PCs as the predominant consumer electronic device.
Android smartphones ‘popular due to diversity of hardware’
Author: James Duncan | In: Orange| Samsung| Sony Ericsson| T-Mobile
4 Aug 2011
Android's substantial popularity is due to the wide range of mobile phones available that support the operating system.
Such is the view of Stuff magazine editor Will Findlater, who states that the "sheer weight" of models from numerous manufacturers that are compatible with Androids means there is something for "all different needs and budgets".
Among the devices users will find support Android models are premium-priced "powerhouses that hardware-wise are better than anything else out that's actually on the market at the moment", although he indicates that there are also several lower-priced mobiles.
"If you have very specific needs, Android almost certainly will have apps that cater for them," Mr Findlater claims, adding that in terms of hardware they also provide much more flexibility than other operating systems. Indeed, he indicates consumers will find models that have good-quality camera features, as well as those that have slide-out keyboards.
Such comments come as a recent Canalys study revealed that Android accounts for 48 per cent of the global smartphone market.
Android increases smartphone market share
Author: James Duncan | In: LG| Motorola| Samsung| Sony Ericsson
3 Aug 2011
Android has increased its share of the smartphone market, achieving a global share of 48 per cent and seeing shipments climb by more than 379 per cent over one year ago to reach 51.9 million units.
This expansion was boosted by sales of Motorola, LG, HTC, Samsung, Huawei, ZTE and Sony Ericsson phones, according to new research by Canalys.
Country-level statistics also indicate that there were some strong performances from Android-based handsets in the Asia-Pacific region, such as Taiwan, where Android holds a 71 per cent platform share. In South Korea, meanwhile, it has 85 per cent.
The Apple iPhone also emerged as a popular individual model, with a market share of 19 per cent and shipments totalling 20.3 million units.
Data from Nielsen released in July indicated that 55 per cent of all those in the US who bought a new mobile in the last three months chose a smartphone, up from the 34 per cent noted a year ago.
HTC sets smartphone sales target
2 Aug 2011
Smartphone manufacturer HTC has revealed it is looking to sell more mobile handsets in the third quarter of 2011 than it did in the previous three-month period.
The Taiwanese company expects to achieve sales of 13.5 million smartphones between July and September, with this figure not only representing an increase of 1.3 million from April to June but also around double the amount recorded in the third quarter of 2010.
Should the organisation be able to meet such a target it is thought it would be on track to eclipse Nokia by 2012, although in the last quarter the Finnish firm sold around 4.5 million more smartphones than HTC.
And while it is looking to increase sales, HTC indicates that the average selling price of its handsets is set to stay the same.
Last month, Digitimes reported the mobile provider is aiming for smartphone sales in 2011 to be double those seen last year, with demand for its Android-based products said to be "growing steadily".
Smartphones are overtaking PCs in the popularity stakes.
This is according to Nicholas McQuire, research director at the International Data Corporation, who told a FT Connected Business podcast that in the past 12 months the take-up of such mobile phones has surged dramatically.
He suggests the proliferation of these devices is rising 60 per cent on a year-on-year basis, while it is thought there would be some 1.3 million smartphone apps available by the end of 2011.
This compares to the 75,000 that can be used on PCs.
"We've also seen smartphones and tablets combined grow and usurp PCs as the predominant device in terms of shipments worldwide as well," he claims, adding that this trend is only likely to continue.
Last month, Colm Bracken, group search manager at Microsoft, reported that smartphones are largely responsible for the growing popularity of accessing the internet through mobile devices, with such usage said to particularly peak at weekends.
Everything Everywhere, the parent company of T-Mobile and Orange, has cited the burgeoning popularity of smartphones as being a driving factor behind its economic growth.
Releasing its financial results for the first half of 2011, the organisation reveals that mobile service revenue – excluding regulation – stood at £3,071 million, a rise of 1.9 per cent from the same period in 2010.
This increase, it suggests, is partially due to the "momentum" provided by the smartphone market. Between April and June, 85 per cent of customers signing a new contract with either T-Mobile or Orange chose this kind of handset, compared to 64 per cent who opted to do so this time last year.
Two-thirds of customers are shown to be taking out 24-month contracts, with higher-value smartphones indicated as being increasingly popular.
Everything Everywhere chief executive Tom Alexander claimed that the first half of 2011 was "a period of good progress" for the firm, adding that the organisation is "investing in building the best network experience for our customers and in creating platforms for growth".
In February, the firm revealed that smartphones accounted for 82 per cent of pay-monthly contracts during the last three months of 2010, up from the 50 per cent recorded in the same quarter of 2009.
Smartphone popularity ‘driving mobile internet browsing’
Author: James Duncan | In: Vodafone
27 Jul 2011
The growing popularity of smartphones is seeing an increasing number of people using their mobile to access the internet.
Such is the view of Colm Bracken, group search manager at Microsoft, who states that "the amount of smartphone penetration" is driving the popularity of going online via a handset.
Citing figures from Morgan Stanley, he indicates that at present just over one-third (35 per cent) of Britons have a smartphone but as this is predicted to rise to 50 per cent in 2012, an increasing number of consumers will look to use their mobiles in order to go on the internet.
"The fact that more people are equipped with smartphones means that more time will be spent on the web," Mr Bracken notes, adding that mobile internet use peaks at the weekend as people tend to be away from their work or home PC.
Earlier this month, Rob Thurner, mobile consultant and digital trainer for the Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing, stated the fact smartphones account for 28 per cent of internet browsing "isn't that surprising".
He noted that the faster processing power and large screens of such devices has meant consumers are able to do things on their mobile which they once could have only done on a traditional computer.
Smartphone growth ‘benefitting ARM Holdings’
Author: James Duncan | In: LG
26 Jul 2011
Semiconductor and chip manufacturer ARM Holdings has revealed that it has benefited financially from the increasing popularity of smartphones.
Releasing a trading report for the three-month period ending June 30th, the Cambridge-based firm notes that revenue increased by just under one-fifth (18 per cent) during the quarter compared to the same period last year.
"The increasing penetration of smartphones continues to benefit ARM," the company states, indicate that due to "a near doubling of the smartphone market", its customers reported a 300 per cent year-on-year rise in Cortex-A processor-based wireless chips sales.
Of such products, an increasing number are being placed in so-called super-smartphones with an average of 2.5 ARM chips now found in the typical mobile, a rise from the 2.4 noted 12 months ago.
Among the handsets that utilise ARM's range of Cortex-A chips are the Nokia N900 and the Palm Pre, while the firm indicates smartphones are a "must-have consumer device".
Vodafone expands European smartphone market share
Author: James Duncan | In: Vodafone
25 Jul 2011
Vodafone has increased its market share of the European smartphone sector.
Releasing an interim management statement for the three-month period ending June 30th, the telecoms company reveals that 19.5 per cent of such devices across the continent were on its network.
Such a figure represents an increase from the 13.6 per cent stake it had in the second quarter of 2010.
And it appears that the UK market is helping to drive this growth, with revenue generated in the country rising 1.7 per cent, while Germany saw a 0.2 per cent rise.
Vodafone chief executive Vittorio Colao points out that "despite challenging macroeconomic conditions" in several southern European markets, the firm has made a good start to the year.
"Revenue from our key focus areas of data, enterprise and emerging markets continues to grow strongly," he states.
In May, the company unveiled plans to launch Vodafone Smart, a device it claims is the lightest Android-based smartphone on the market.
Asus Padfone ’shows outside the box thinking’
Author: James Duncan | In: LG
22 Jul 2011
The Asus Padfone is one of the most anticipated smartphones yet to be released.
Such is the view of Mobiletechreview.com editor-in-chief Lisa Gade, who claims that "it's hard not to get excited" about the product, which consists of an Android smartphone that fits into a slot on an accompanying ten-inch tablet PC.
"Asus is really thinking outside the box and that's important with so many similar Android phones and tablets on the market," Ms Gade claims, adding that the device is "even more brilliant than the Asus Eee Pad Transformer design".
But this is not the only smartphone that the US journalist is savouring. She notes that the Samsung Galaxy S II is "a remarkable high-end Android phone", while Nokia's range of Windows Phone 7 handsets will provide a fantastic combination of the firm's hardware and Microsoft's "excellent" mobile operating system.
Ms Gade goes on to state that the UK usually receives the latest smartphones before the American market, with US consumers often "longingly" anticipating the products that their British cousins are able to use first.
Earlier this week, Know Your Mobile features editor Richard Goodwin claimed that the forthcoming new version of the Apple iPhone will be 2011's "big, big release" in the smartphones market.
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