From an article in the Financial Times…
“With networks and manufacturers fighting to supply the world with must-have smartphones, more and more people are now checking e-mail, logging on to the internet and accessing applications on the go.
Which all adds up to one thing: a huge explosion in the amount of data traffic crossing cellular networks as the telecoms community descends on Barcelona for this year’s Mobile World Congress.
In many ways, the iPhone opened the floodgates for the acceptance of mobile data use, with neatly packaged apps that simplified the way users can navigate the data available online through interfaces suited for small touchscreens.
The BlackBerry trailblazed business adoption of mobile internet use, but its growth curve never saw the same peak witnessed with the latest breed of smartphones.
According to Gartner, the number of smartphones sold in the second quarter of 2009 was up 29 per cent, despite overall sales of mobile handsets being down by 6 per cent. This growth shows no signs of abating – according to Ovum, the number of smartphone users will reach 2bn by 2014.”