Modern technology gives us many things.

More than half of Australians now using smartphones

smartphoneindexMore than half (52 per cent) of Australian mobile users are now using smartphones according to the Telstra Smartphone Index – up from 41 per cent in 2011 and 32 per cent in 2010.

The research, conducted by the Neilsen Company on behalf of Telstra, shows one big growth area is mobile shopping.

Half of smartphone users have used their device to research a purchase and three in four of these have gone ahead and bought the product offline.

At a time like Christmas, using a smartphone to browse products ahead of time can save time when you’re ready to hit the shops for real.

Actually purchasing products on smartphones also shows that we’re growing even confident as mobile customers.

 “Smartphone popularity continues to surge and our research shows Australian women are leading the way in making it the device of choice for not only shopping, but also searching, social networking, and other tasks,” says Telstra Director of Digital Media and Content, Adam Good.

“Shoppers looking to avoid the Christmas chaos at malls and stores are browsing products on their smartphones before purchasing, making their usual December rush a more efficient, enjoyable experience.”

Females and younger users make up the largest growth groups with some age segments showing penetration as high as 86 per cent.

Nine in 10 users have multitasked with their smartphone with steady usage throughout the week for everything from email and browsing to entertainment and consumption of media.

Our smartphones are also a favourite way to connect to search (one in three) and social networking (two in five).

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