\nOne in three adults in the UK now uses a smartphone, according to a report by the telecoms regulator Ofcom.<\/p>\n
Apple’s iPhone was said to be the most popular brand. However, teenagers appeared to favour RIM’s Blackberry devices.<\/p>\n
The report notes that the increased uptake of smartphones has led to a dramatic rise in mobile internet use.<\/p>\n
Facebook was the most visited website on handheld devices, with 43 million hours spent on it in December 2010.<\/p>\n
Ofcom’s annual Communications Market Report combines the regulator’s own research with work carried out by other industry analysts.<\/p>\n
The 341-page document provides a comprehensive snapshot of the UK’s TV, radio, internet and telecommunications consumption.<\/p>\n
On mobiles, it said that 58% of adult males owned a smartphone compared to 42% of females.<\/p>\n
Among teenagers the trend was reversed with 52% of girls using smartphones against 48% of boys.<\/p>\n
Although Apple’s iPhone was a favourite device for 32% of adults, among teens its popularity was dwarfed by the Blackberry, which 37% of young people identified as their preferred brand. <\/p>\n
Many of those taking part in Ofcom’s survey confessed to being obsessed with their smartphone. 37% of adults and 60% of teenagers described themselves as “addicted”. <\/p>\n
Trending online:<\/p>\n
Ofcom’s study also looked at how people use the internet via home fixed line connections.<\/p>\n
Its analysis was based on a survey of 2,481 adults who have access to broadband.<\/p>\n
Among those who took part, the most popular task was sending and receiving email (89%).<\/p>\n
More people turned to their computer to do online banking (61%) than used it to watch television (45%).<\/p>\n
Online privacy was a concern for the minority of people surveyed, with worries appearing to grow as people got older.<\/p>\n
Among 16 to 24-year-olds, 6% said they had concerns about their privacy on the internet. That figure rose to 13% of 55 to 64-year-olds.<\/p>\n
Winners and losers:<\/p>\n
The report also examines the type of websites or online services that people are spending their time on, based on research carried out by UKOM\/Neilsen.<\/p>\n
The biggest growth area, between April 2010 and April 2011, was games, which increased by 23%.<\/p>\n
News websites took a 33% dive on the previous year, as did adult sites whose use fell by 13%.<\/p>\n
Away from the internet, there were also noteworthy changes around the use of broadcasting technology.<\/p>\n
Time-shifted TV viewing, using digital video recorders, made up 14% of all viewing time in 2010, 1% lower than the previous year.<\/p>\n
Sales of 3D capable televisions appeared to be relatively sluggish, with 125,000 sets sold in 2010, compared to 1 million internet-enabled TVs.<\/p>\n
Radio fared well, according to Ofcom, as total listener hours hit 1.04bn per week, up 2.1% on 2009.<\/p>\n
By the beginning of 2011, a quarter of radio listening was done on a digital platform, said the regulator.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
One in three adults in the UK now uses a smartphone<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-headlines","category-macau"],"yoast_head":"\n