SMARTPHONE OWNERSHIP IN Ireland increased by 40 per cent in less than a year with just under half of all households in the country now owning one, a new report has found.

Smartphone ownership in Ireland went up from 35 per cent to 49 per cent between March and November last year according to a Red C report released today.  This puts Ireland ahead of the global average of 35 per cent.

Consumers were asked if they or anyone in their household owned certain gadgets, including laptops, tablets, and desktops.

At the same time tablet ownership doubled from 8 per cent to 16 per cent of households. Meanwhile, 88 per cent of households own a laptop while 67 per cent own a desktop computer.

The figures could be slightly underestimating the current number of smartphones and tablets in Ireland as the report didn’t cover the Christmas period when a high number of gadgets were purchased.

The research found that there are 3.2 million internet users in Ireland and 70 per cent of the population has access to the internet.

The study found that almost three-quarters (71 per cent) of the Irish population expect to own a smartphone by the end of 2012, while 41 per cent expect to own a tablet.

A total of 1,014 adults were interviewed by Red C in Ireland as part of the survey which was carried out in countries around the world by the Worldwide Independent Network of Market Research.

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