Mobile recycling to increase as UK smartphone ownership rises
Monday, August 15, 2011 - 09:25:06
UK consumers are likely to be selling off their old mobile phones as more and more people here buy multifunctional smartphones in larger numbers than many other nations.
A report published by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech shows that 67 per cent of new mobiles which are purchased in the UK fall into the smartphone category. This figure, if accurate, indicates that the UK is ahead of all other countries when it comes to smartphone penetration levels.
These sales figures are based on the second quarter of 2011 and Google's Android platform was the real winner, with almost 49 per cent of all smartphones sold in this period featuring various iterations of this operating system.
The UK is slightly ahead of Australia when it comes to smartphone sales, according to spokesperson Dominic Sunnebo, who pointed out that this mass penetration was possible in both nations largely because consumers are often given their high-tech handsets free of charge at the start of a contract, with no upfront costs to cover.
Although Android is king of the smartphone software platforms, when it comes to sheer numbers, Apple and its iPhone range continues to be the single most dominant brand for hardware.
Since UK mobile users typically get a free upgrade when they commit to continued service with their existing provider or sign on to a new operator, there are hundreds of thousands of used mobile phones which become obsolete each year.
While many consign old mobile phones to landfill sites or simply leave them gathering dust in drawers at home, more and more people are starting to turn to mobile phone recycling to squeeze any remaining value out of their previous handsets and put this towards covering the cost of their new smartphone or offsetting monthly payments.
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