Smartphones gain more share in mobile market

More than a quarter of adults and nearly a half of teenagers now own a smartphone and many of their users claim to be "highly addicted", according to new research from Ofcom, the communications regulator.

Smartphone users make far more calls than their less sophisticated mobile counterparts, Ofcom said, with 81 per cent making calls every day, compared with just 53 per cent among regular users.

Some 60 per cent of teenage smartphone users claim to be highly addicted while among adults the figure is 37 per cent.