Smartphone Ownership In UK Reaches 50 Percent

New research has revealed that almost half the UK population are smartphone owners, with such devices accounting for 70 percent of all mobile phones sold.

The research, conducted by Kandar Worldpanel ComTech, indicated that half of these were Android phones, while BlackBerry secured a 22.5 percent share and iPhone 18.5 percent.

Android leading the way

Android’s share has almost doubled since last year when it controlled 29 percent of the market. 45 percent of Android phones sold were manufactured by HTC, although Samsung is closing in with a 38 percent share, buoyed by the success of the Galaxy S II.

Only 8.5 percent of Android sales were Sony Ericsson devices, a significant reduction from last year’s total of 20.5 percent. Sony is hoping that its recent buyout of the venture will revive its fortunes.

Apple’s sale share decreased from 33 percent to 18.5 percent, but the company will take some solace in the fact that the figures don’t include the record breaking launch of the iPhone 4S, which sold four million units worldwide during its first weekend on sale.

The report also documented Nokia’s recent struggles as the market share of its recently discarded Symbian OS decreased to just 6 percent from 20 percent last year.

However Nokia is likely to be optimistic about turning things around after unveiling its first phones running the Windows Phone operating system last week at Nokia World. Windows Phone accounted for just 1.4 percent of sales and Microsoft hopes that its symbiotic relationship with Nokia will prove productive.

In July, Kandar Worldpanel predicted that smartphone ownership in the UK would reach the 50 percent threshold by June 2012, however this tipping point appears to come early.

Sixty percent of teens and 37 percent of adults in Britain say that they are addicted to their smartphones. Ownership in the UK exceeds the US figure, where 35 percent of adults own a smart device, with Android controlling a third of the market.