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IDC: Smartphones a Critical Communication Tool
Posted On 04 Apr 2013
YNOT – Roughly 84 percent of the communication accomplished via smartphones involves texting, email or social networks, according to a new study performed by research firm IDC. While email tops the list of activities — with 78 percent of survey respondents saying they use their smartphone for email more than any other purpose — web browsing, games, search and video-viewing also outpace talking on the devices.
According to the study, the most frequent smartphone activities are:
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Actually talking on the phone came in at the very bottom of the list, occupying the majority of phone time for only 16 percent of users.
About 79 percent of smartphone users admitted they use their phones within 15 minutes of waking up each day; 62 percent said the phone is the first thing they grab when they wake up.
“Smartphones, coupled with rich applications and mobile data services, allow us to connect with our family, friends and community from the moment we wake up until the end of our day,” the study’s authors wrote. “Our research shows that, rather than feeling overwhelmed by it, we enjoy and value this increased social connectedness.
“Today, half of the total U.S. population uses smartphones,” the authors continued. “The convenience of being able to interact with anyone, anytime, anywhere, makes the phone a more critical tool than ever before.”
The survey, conducted the first week in March on behalf of Facebook, included 7,445 American iPhone and Android users aged 18-44.
