This year's Communications Market Report from telecomms regulator Ofcom has revealed a surge in smartphone ownership. In June 2010, 26.5% of people in the UK said they had a smartphone, more than double the number two years previously. Growth in the last 12 months was particularly strong, up 81% from 7.2 million users in May 2009 to 12.8 million in May 2010.
Almost a quarter of UK adults (23%) have accessed online content or sent emails on their mobile phones this year, up from 20% in the first quarter of 2009. When it comes to the amount of time spent online via mobile phones, 45% of that time is spent using Facebook.
UK consumers sent 104 billion text messages last year – a new record, up 25% on 2008 – which is an average of 1700 SMS messages for every person in the UK.
Overall, Ofcom's research says consumers are spending almost half of their waking hours using media and communications.
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