Mobile phone users in Africa are increasingly taking up to smartphones, a study says.
The study by InMobi, a global independent mobile ad network, found the users also continuously rely on their phones for Internet connections.
The report released this week stated that there was a 3 percent increase of smartphone penetration in South Africa during the Q1 to Q2 2012 interval.
Smartphones accounted for 63 percent of ad impressions on their network.
According to inMobi, users are turning to smartphones as they allow reading of news, email and connection to social networks on the go.
The RIM’s BlackBerry dominates the South African smartphone market with 50 percent dominance while feature phones take 35 percent in the first quarter. The feature phone market is also shrinking by 4 percent, the study revealed.
The inMobi study was focused to identify how users in SA use their Mobile devices to shop. The consumers use apps to look up product description, prices, and share them with their friends.
However, InMobi says mobile web impressions at 98 percent dominates 2 percent from apps.
Isis Nyong’o, VP and MD for Africa at InMobi commented the smartphone market is growing as developers tap into solving the needs of consumers.
The research was done between April and June 2012 in South Africa.
