Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Smartphone usage growth 'has stalled'

Sarah Harding with the HTC Incredible S smartphone
The proportion of Brits using a smartphone has crept up only two per cent in the last six months, YouGov’s survey found.
Analysts said that manufacturers and networks need to do a better job of explaining the benefits smartphone ownership, especially to older people. Only 14 per cent of over-55s are smartphone users, the online poll found.
Women are also currently less likely to use a smartphone than men, who account for 59 per cent of the market.
“It could be that the growing sales figures are being driven by existing smartphone users upgrading,” he said.
But YouGov’s findings were not necessarily a cause for concern for the industry, he added, saying that not using a smartphone doesn’t mean people are “rejecting” them.
“Over time a higher and higher proportion of phones in use are going to naturally be smartphones as prices come down,” Mr Cripps said.
“In the long run the situation won’t remain the same simply because technology always percolates down.”
Indeed, YouGov’s survey of 4,176 adults also found that a third of ordinary mobile users plan to get a smartphone next time they upgrade.

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