Three: 90% of customers will be smartphone owners by 2012

Think that smartphones are just a trend that will soon pass? Research shows that it’s really not. Over the years, more and more people have traded in their analog mobile phones to buy a smartphone, and for good reason. Smartphones have a lot of added features and capabilities that the older generation of mobile phones don’t. This includes features that allow users to access the Internet, create and edit documents and spreadsheets, take and send photos and videos, download and stream movies and television shows, and more.

One example of a highly popular smartphone is Apple’s iPhone. The device has gained a huge following, spawning fan-created groups, blogs, and communities who discuss the latest Apple news, phone hacks, and developments with regards to the device.

Given the huge popularity of smartphones, it’s no surprise really, that mobile data demand is predicted to increase and eventually grow ten-fold by the year 2016. As mentioned earlier, this is because users are using their devices to stream content from the web while they’re on the go. While this adds a whole lot of convenience to the whole user experience, it also presents a potential problem for providers who may find themselves running out of capacity soon.

On a related note, the popularity of smartphones isn’t slowing down and Three UK has said that they expect that 9 in every 10 of their customers will be owners of smartphones by the end of 2012. The operator announced that they observed a 30% increase from 2010 to 2011, from 30% last year to 60% this year. And, “based on current and predicted trends,” the company expects to see a similar increase occur next year.

A Three spokesperson has verified that the firm has cut down its offering of feature phones, as consumers are now opting for a full smartphone experience, one that the firm partially defines as having a Qwerty keyboard or a touchscreen display on the handset.

Three had earlier revealed that 97% of all its traffic was now data. The carrier stated that in the past 14 months, which is the period from June 2010 to September 2011, Three experienced an increase of 427% in terms of data usage from its smartphone users.

Phil Sheppard, Three’s director of network strategy, had stated: “Downloading apps, streaming movies, getting around town with Google Maps, even checking in on Facebook – it all adds up, and you’re doing it now more than ever.”

Source – ZDNet