Call making no longer primary purpose of cellphones

T3reports.

With social networking, Web browsing, e-book reading and media absorption becoming increasingly essential selling points for modern smartphone devices, a new study carried out by smartphone retailer and network provider O2 has found call making is no longer the primary purpose of mobile phones.

The survey of 2 000 British smartphone users found that people now spend far more time doing other things on their handsets than actually making calls. O2's survey revealed that smartphone owners spend most time surfing the Web - an average of almost 25 minutes a day. Next up was social media activities, taking up 17.5 minutes of each day, Digital Trends writes.

Listening to music and playing games each came in at around 15 minutes a day, while making calls was fifth in the list, at just 12 minutes a day,

Other uses included sending e-mails, texting, watching TV shows and movies, reading books and taking photos.

IT Pro Portal says, using an alternative method of data correlation; the survey also reveals that over half of smartphone users (54% of participants) use their phones as an alarm clock, while 46% have done away with their watch in favour of a padded pocket.

Findings for the future include a growing number of people using their mobile devices in place of a TV, with 6% reporting to have made the entertainment swap - the same amount who have dispensed with physical books in favour of reading exclusively on their smartphones.