One in five UK consumers owns a smartphone
Approximately one in five UK consumers now owns a smartphone that can check email and go online, according to a new report from Deloitte.
Deloitte’s annual survey, State of the Media Democracy, found that 21% of consumers are using smartphones and that they ranked fourth among owners in terms of the product they value most.
The survey examines how British consumers aged 14 to 75 are currently consuming media, and what their preferences might be in the future.
Overall mobile phone ownership has held up well, Deloitte found, with nearly nine-in-ten (88%) consumers owning a mobile of some type. The use of mobile internet access is up from last year, driven primarily by consumers in their teens, 20s and 30s. However, text-messaging, followed by digital camera use, remain the most frequently used mobile phone features (92% and 79%, respectively) across all age groups.
Although teens and 20-somethings remain the most heavily engaged with using enhanced media features of their mobile phone, use for media consumption beyond music for all other age groups remains very low. For example, 40% of consumers between the ages of 14-19 stated they downloaded applications to their phone, compared with just 12% of respondents aged 44-62.
Simon Kerton-Johnson, telecoms partner at Deloitte, said: “Smartphone functionality is increasingly challenging traditional mobile phones as consumers place a higher premium on applications and content rather than pure voice and SMS functionality.
“While voice remains the most significant source of revenue for operators, consumers appear willing to accept lower voice quality in exchange for the fullest suite of applications possible.”
In January, a forecast from Futuresource Consulting predicted that more than one billion people worldwide will own a smartphone by 2013.
David Luu, senior market analyst, said: “Last year, mobile phone ownership exceeded four billion users – which equates to nearly 60% of the world’s population.
“And in the face of a handset market which is slowing on the whole, smartphone sales are rising fast, with our year-end forecasts for 2009 showing smartphone sales representing 17% of total handset shipments.”