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Dublin: 11 °C Wednesday 22 May, 2013

Dramatic surge in number of smartphones and tablets in Ireland

New research carried out by Red C found that 49 per cent of Irish people own a smartphone while 16 per cent own a tablet.

Image: AP Photo/Eric Risberg

SMARTPHONE OWNERSHIP IN Ireland increased by 40 per cent in less than a year with just under half of all households in the country now owning one, a new report has found.

Smartphone ownership in Ireland went up from 35 per cent to 49 per cent between March and November last year according to a Red C report released today.  This puts Ireland ahead of the global average of 35 per cent.

Consumers were asked if they or anyone in their household owned certain gadgets, including laptops, tablets, and desktops.

At the same time tablet ownership doubled from 8 per cent to 16 per cent of households. Meanwhile, 88 per cent of households own a laptop while 67 per cent own a desktop computer.

The figures could be slightly underestimating the current number of smartphones and tablets in Ireland as the report didn’t cover the Christmas period when a high number of gadgets were purchased.

The research found that there are 3.2 million internet users in Ireland and 70 per cent of the population has access to the internet.

The study found that almost three-quarters (71 per cent) of the Irish population expect to own a smartphone by the end of 2012, while 41 per cent expect to own a tablet.

A total of 1,014 adults were interviewed by Red C in Ireland as part of the survey which was carried out in countries around the world by the Worldwide Independent Network of Market Research.

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Comments (33 Comments)

  • You only have to look at people on the bus in the mornings to see how many of them have iPhones, Samsungs etc even some iPads & Kindles. Irish people love a bit of tech!

    Reply
  • It’s a well recited fact that the Irish are big early adopters of new technology. Not sure if it has to do with the geography of the country or for another reason.

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  • We may be big users of new tech gadgets but we also pay the highest prices

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  • This is why the fools who for some reason are in charge of this country are desperately trying to police the internet now…the media do not have a hold over the people anymore and cannot lie and use propaganda to fill there back pockets with money for vested interests and there friends…newspapers sales are down cause public forums of people helping each other and giving good information is whats happening now and its the way forward. Goodbye propaganda…welcome power to the people!

    Reply
  • I love my galaxy s2 can’t wait for the s3

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  • B7584 07/03/12 #

    Not all smartphones are €300-€500+.

    there are androids for €100-€150, thats why the figure is so high.
    Also there are cheap HTC’s & Blackberrys on the PAYG market.

    Buying a sim free phone is the cheapest way to go,its dear in the beginning stumping up for a samsung galaxy or iphone but you are in a position to pick the best operator prices whenever you want, it will save you money & also being able to pick up a foreign sim while roaming will save you a fortune
    Also, when you get on the smartphone ‘ladder’,take care of your phone,iphones & the samsung galaxy & high end htc’s have incredible resale value when they arent scratched/cracked to bits, a good resale value goes a long way towards upgrading to the next model sim free again.

    Finished my 18 month contract in the next 2 weeks, never getting into a contract again. Seems 24 months is the new 18 months.
    If youre after an iphone and sign up for a 24 month contract for a 4s you will be kicking yourself by the end of the year when the iphone 5 will be out.
    Better off buying a 2nd hand iphone 4.

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  • jimbo 07/03/12 #

    Good news

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  • Mr Lee 07/03/12 #

    Data costs are so cheap here compared to the US! Have relations there and for them to get the same amount of data I get free here, it would cost them $80 dollars! And that’s on one of the big networks! (and I’m not sure how much data it is, they worked it out! )

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  • jimbo 07/03/12 #

    2year contracts are rediculous…

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  • My husband and I got new iPhone 4nice phone but the reception when receiving a call not good you can hardly hear It seems to be sensitive anybody else had this problem ?

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  • The number of smart arses has stay the same though.

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  • How much are these?? 300-500! Recession my ass

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    • Many Smartphones are purchased on 12- 18m contracts which makes them much more affordable.

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    • Me and my husband each got iPhones on contract,we pay 40 per month for them. The same or less than we paid before only now we have mobile computers and no more broadband. It actually works out cheaper.

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    • jimbo 07/03/12 #

      Obviously your not smart

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    • I got a samsung s2 for 120, im spending the same now as I did on credit with crap phones in the past. It was a no brainer. Anyway stop complaining, we need people to be spending money for the economy to kick off, not begrudge them for dipping into their pockets.

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    • @ Louise, smartphones include phones such as Vodafone’s V858 (€49.99 – €59.99), the Samsung Galaxy Mini and Galaxy Y (both of which are available at prices less than €100), as well as the HTC Wildfire and Samsung Galaxy Ace at less than €180. And these are pay as you go prices. Smartphones are affordable for most people nowadays.

      Now tabs on the other hand, as far as I’m concerned, are totally pointless. Get a high spec phone (such as the Sony Xperia S, the Samsung Galaxy SII, an iPhone 4S (though not my cup of tea) or a Nokia Lumia) or a low end netbook with good battery life.

      Reply
  • So now lets have a pole on comreg, some research into all the Mobile phone operators in the country and why 50% of smart phone users are now able to vote Online without the need to go to polling stations. Did you Know last year a company related to vodaphone with 20 Directory made 200million in the irish economy and were paid the tax on this 200m by the tax man. Reversal of tax due to the company being registered elsewhere. Hello…..shit he hung up again!!!*&%$#@

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  • Austerity isn’t working ey :)

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  • 32GB iPhone 4 at the time €600
    Resale value in 10 mths when contract is up €150
    Cost to service device a month over the life of a 24mth contract = €18.75

    Pretty good value for total connectivity

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  • Adds contract up over 12 – 18 mths it’s more than the phone is worth, I know cos I’m sorely bruised financially cos of contract with three mobile

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    • Buy your phone out of contract and only take 30 day rolling contracts with whatever provider gives the best deal at the time.

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    • 24 month contacts the norm in Germany :-(. An iphone costs about 40-45 euro a month with flat rate calls and text and flat rate Internet that is restricted to under 64kbits/s once you go over 200 – 300mb per month. In comparison to that, I don’t think Ireland’s too bad.

      You can’t blame the network providers for the insanely highly monthly charges on iPhones however, as they still have to handover the retail price of the phone to Apple – no “special partner” discounts there.

      Reply
  • Some good stats there, but there’s a big difference between say a pretty un-smart blackberry ( classified as a smartphone ) and an iPhone or decent android device. Important to consider if you’re developing apps etc

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