Smartphone users top 1 billion

Sixteen years after the launch of the smartphone, the number of these gadgets in use now tops 1 billion, Global and Mail says, citing a new report today.

“The world’s first modern smartphone, the Nokia Communicator, was introduced in 1996,” said senior analyst Scott Bicheno.

“Nokia remained a dominant force in smartphones for over a decade until the arrival of Apple’s iconic iPhone in 2007,” he said.

“The iPhone revolutionized smartphone design and it catalyzed industry growth.”

Strategy Analytics put the number of smartphones in use around the world at 1.038 billion in the third quarter of the year, compared to an estimated 708 million a year earlier.

“We estimate one in seven of the world’s population owned a smartphone in the third quarter of 2012,” said Neil Mawston, the group’s executive director.

“Smartphone penetration is still relatively low. Most of the world does not yet own a smartphone and there remains huge scope for future growth, particularly in emerging markets such as China, India and Africa. The first billion smartphones in use worldwide took 16 years to reach, but we forecast the next billion to be achieved in less than three years, by 2015.”