The Samsung Galaxy SIII has heralded the latest in a wave of smartphones with a focus “beyond calls” – handsets created specifically for a new generation of users with new demands of their phones – according to a report by mobile network, O2.
On average, smartphone owners now spend over 2 hours a day using their phones, according to O2’s “All About You” Report into the way customers are using their handsets. However, the research found that making calls comes just fifth in a ranking of things they are used for.
Smartphone users spend more time browsing the internet (25 minutes a day), social networking (17 minutes a day), playing games (13 minutes a day) and listening to music (16 minutes a day) than they do making calls (12 minutes).
How long we spend using our smartphones (by activity) each day
| Activity | Time/day |
| Browsing the internet | 24.81 |
| Checking social networks | 17.49 |
| Playing games | 14.44 |
| Listening to music | 15.64 |
| Making calls | 12.13 |
| Checking/writing emails | 11.1 |
| Text messaging | 10.2 |
| Watching TV/films | 9.39 |
| Reading books | 9.3 |
| Taking photographs | 3.42 |
| Total | 128 |
David Johnson, General Manager Devices for O2 in the UK, said:
“Smartphones are now being used like a digital ‘Swiss Army Knife’, replacing possessions like watches, cameras, books and even laptops. While we’re seeing no let-up in the number of calls customers make or the amount of time they spend speaking on their phones, their phone now plays a far greater role in all aspects of their lives.”
The “All About You” report was commissioned by O2 to mark the launch of the Samsung Galaxy SIII, which is one of the first phones to lavish more attention on these previously “next generation” functions and to be designed for a new generation of smartphone users.
It also found that, for many people, the smartphone is replacing other possessions including alarm clocks, watches, cameras, diaries and even laptops and TVs as they become more intuitive and easier to use for things “beyond calls”.
The phone has also started to replace a range of other possessions:
- Over half (54%) say they use their phones in place of an alarm clock
- Almost half (46%) have dispensed with a watch in favour of using their smartphone
- Two-in-five (39%) have switched to use their phone instead of a separate camera
- Over one quarter use their phone instead of a laptop (28%)
- One in ten have got shot of a games console in favour of their handset (11%)
- Perhaps indicative of where things are moving, one in twenty smartphone users have switched to use their phone in place of a TV (6%) or reading physical books (6%)
O2 has seen a rise in demand for phones that behave more like devices that know, understand and respond to their users. Phones like the latest Samsung Galaxy SIII are the most recent example. It includes voice interaction (the phone will “snooze” if a user asks it to when the alarm goes off), new interfaces such as eye tracking (which mean that the screen won’t go dark when a user is looking at it) and more sophisticated and personalised touchscreen functions are the latest innovations handset makers have developed in response to consumer demand.
Johnson continued: “We’re starting to see more and more phones being developed that interact with their users in new and interesting ways. Intelligent voice recognition and eye tracking are making phones even easier to use and we know our customers will love them.”
What we use our phones for…
| Function | %age |
| Taking photographs | 74% |
| Making phone calls | 71% |
| Text messaging | 69% |
| Surfing the internet | 69% |
| Alarm clock | 64% |
| 52% | |
| As a watch | 50% |
| Using it as an address book | 50% |
| Using social networks | 49% |
| Use it as a diary | 39% |
| Music | 39% |
| Playing games | 38% |
| Watching TV/films | 22% |
| Reading books | 13% |
Notes to Editors:
Hope&Glory PR
t: 02075664797
m: 07940570288
e: james.gm@hopeandglorypr.com
For more information contact:
O2 Press Office
O2
t:01753565656
e: pressoffice@o2.com
About O2 in the UK
O2 is the commercial brand of Telefónica UK Limited and is a leading communications company with over 23 million customers – read more about O2 at www.o2.co.uk/news. O2 runs 2G and 3G networks and was the first to trial 4G/LTE, reaching speeds of over 100Mpbs, as well as owning half of Tesco Mobile. It also operates O2 Wifi, O2 Health, O2 Unify, O2 Media and has recently launched the O2 Wallet. O2 employs over 11,000 people in the UK, has 450 retail stores and sponsors The O2, O2 Academy venues and the England rugby team. Telefónica UK Limited is part of Telefónica Europe plc which uses O2 as its commercial brand in the UK, Ireland, Slovakia, Germany and the Czech Republic and is a business division of Telefónica SA.
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