Half of UK population owns a smartphone

Google's Android is the most popular smartphone OS in the UK. Photograph: Robert Galbraith/Reuters

Just under half of the UK population now owns a smartphone, and Google's mobile operating system Android is powering half of those those being sold – followed by RIM's BlackBerry models with 22.5% and Apple's iPhone at 18.5%.

The pace of smartphone sales is accelerating rapidly, too. In the 12 weeks to 2 October, they comprised just under 70% of mobile phones, according to new research from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech.

The findings mark a key shift in the availability of mobile phones and internet connectivity in the UK, as millions more people become connected through handheld devices with access to data services on the move.

But for Finland's Nokia, the past three months have seen its smartphone sales drift even further downwards, so that its Symbian OS – which is being phased out – made up only 6% of sales, compared to nearly 20% a year ago. Apple also saw its share of sales fall dramatically, from 33% to 18.5%.

However both have cause to look ahead to the next set of data. Nokia has just relaunched its smartphone offering, introducing phones which go on sale from mid-November using Microsoft's new Windows Phone software.

For Apple, Kantar's data measurements ended two days before it launched its newest iPhone 4S handset, which has since seen record demand. Apple chief executive Tim Cook said in October that the company had seen a rapid slowdown in sales ahead of the launch as people waited for the new device.

Carolina Milanesi, smartphones analyst at the research company Gartner, said though that many of the smartphones now in peoples' hands are just being used as "glorified feature phones" – the previous generation of phones, which could not run apps or connect to the internet.

"People are still pretty much using them for calls and texts," she said. "What's needed is for people to be educated more by the handset companies about what they can do with the device.

"Apple is good at showing people how they can use apps, but other companies need to move away from saying they've got five-megapixel cameras or whatever. But I think next year we will see people using these devices more effectively as more apps become available on low-end devices, especially as those become more powerful."

Android's share of the UK market has roughly doubled since the same period in 2010, when it had 29% of the market. Among Android handset makers, Taiwan's HTC took the lead in the UK, with 45% of the sales for Google's software in the past 12 weeks.

But Samsung, which recently claimed the crown as the world's largest maker of smartphones, is catching up, reports Kantar, with 38% of Android sales, boosted by its Galaxy SII and Ace handsets.

Sony Ericsson saw its share drop from 20.5% of Android sales a year ago to just 8.5% over the three months to October – which will give Sir Howard Stringer, who last week announced a full buyout of joint venture partner Ericsson, extra impetus to restore the phone company's fortunes.

Nokia and Microsoft now see their future as co-dependent in the mobile space – and the challenge for Microsoft was emphasised by the latest figures, which show that a year after it launched its Windows Phone OS with a number of handset makers, it only had 1.4% of sales.

A number of mobile carriers have ceased selling the previous generation of handsets, and Nokia now stands as the principal driver for Microsoft's efforts in mobile.

Dominic Sunnebo, Kantar's global consumer insight director, warned that the next year could see a lot of jockeying for customers.

""Over the next six to 12 months, the current group of Android owners will be coming to the end of their contracts and looking for an upgrade," he said.

"Our data shows that when these consumers upgrade they tend to remain fairly loyal to Android itself – 62% buy another Android mobile – but considerably less so to the handset manufacturer."