With news of the latest in smartphone technology coming in on daily basis, it’s hard to believe that only 21 percent of wireless subscribers have made the switch. According to a report by NielsenWire, those numbers are beginning to go up. They have seen a steady increase from the 14 percent late in 2008 to the 21 percent figure from the fourth quarter of 2009.

Reports indicate smartphones will become the standard by 2011. Simply turn on your television and watch how many iPhone, Palm, BlackBerry and Android commercials there are. It’s only a matter of time before consumers come to the realization as to how a smartphone can enhance the way they live, communicate and connect with the world. Within the last six months alone, smartphone sales have increased by 29 percent. In fact, 45 percent of those surveyed will be making the switch when asked what their next phone will be.

Further results showed men had the slight edge over females when it came to smartphone ownership with Hispanics and Asians taking up their fair share of the market. When asked how many would remain with their current carrier, 77 percent responded by saying they would stay loyal to their wireless provider, 18 percent would switch to get their hands on the latest smartphone, with the rest consisting of first-time buyers.

As these devices, sporting the very latest in smartphone technology with faster operating systems, multitouch, video capabilities and access to a catalog full of applications at their disposal coming out of the woodwork, it’s hard to fathom that these devices were initially made to place phone calls. Suffice to say, it wasn’t a big surprise when Nielsen came back with only 3 percent of smartphone owners using the device to do exactly just that.

[NielsenWire]

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