Survey: 15% jump in smartphone use in UK

New statistics from market research firm Ipsos Mori reveal the UK saw the biggest rise in smartphone usage in the first 10 months of 2011 out of the US, UK, France, Germany and Japan.

by Helen Leggatt

The study found that smartphone use in the UK jumped 15% from 30% to 45% between January and October last year. That compares to a rise of 7% in the U.S. to 38%, 11% rise to 38% in France, 5% rise to 23% in Germany and up 11% in Japan to 17%.

The demographics of smartphone owners were also found to be shifting. Smartphone usage among women increased in all five countries while ownership rose among those aged 45+ in the U.S., U.K. and France.

Commissioned by Google the study (.pdf) revealed that just over half of all smartphone users use their phones to access the Internet every day. However, computers weren't shunned. Three-quarters said they continued to use their computer to access the Internet daily.

Tablets continued to see increased usage, increasing across all five countries. The highest penetration was found amongst the total population in the US at 11%. The rate of tablet usage is even higher amongst smartphone owners - hitting 17% in the U.S., 11% in Japan and 10% in the U.K.