Smartphones are becoming increasingly integrated into their owners’ lives: 35% use non-voice applications on their devices before they get out of bed in the morning, according to mobile phone manufacturer Ericsson. 
The most common activity performed before getting up is checking Facebook (18%), and it’s also an important early-morning activity for smartphone owners once they’re out of bed (22%). About a quarter of smartphone owners check email on their phones (24%) and access the Internet via their phones’ browsers (23%) soon after getting up.
About three in 10 (29%) use Google Maps during their morning commutes, and 28% listen to music on their phones.
The most active times of day for non-voice smartphone use are early and late evening, but more than half of owners use their devices steadily throughout the day, with a significant dip in use during dinner.
Although half (51%) of smartphone owners use their phones while lying in bed, tablets (57%) and e-book readers (61%) are even more widely used in bed, according to Nielsen. Owners of e-readers spend 37% of their total time using the devices while lying in bed, while tablet owners spend 21% of their tablet time in bed; smartphone owners spend 11% of their smartphone time in bed.
Watching television is the activity most likely to be combined with tablet and smartphone use — making up 30% and 20% of total device usage time, respectively. Not surprisingly, smartphones are the devices considered most valuable as shopping companions or to pass the time while waiting.
Smartphones are increasingly integrated into shopping behaviors such as researching products, reading reviews, and finding stores, according to Prosper Mobile Insights. Half of owners have made purchases on their phones.
The majority of smartphone owners take full advantage of their devices’ capabilities. More than eight in 10 use at least some of their phones’ applications (such as weather and social media), and 53% agree with the statement, “I use my smartphone for all of the functions…it’s my life.”
More than half of smartphone owners (56%) prefer to access the Internet on their phones rather than using computers.
Smartphones have changed the way people use the Internet, according to Ericsson. Prior to their introduction, consumers used the Internet in discrete chunks of time — whether at work, at home, or in Wi-fi hotspots. Adoption of smartphones has enabled people to be online whenever the need or whim strikes, and the result is a more fluid engagement with the medium. Apps make the process more intuitive and immediate than using a browser, which means that consumers interact with online content so seamlessly that it barely registers as being online. There are also indications that users of smartphones and tablets focus more on the app than the device — content and connection matter more than the screen used to get there.
There is, however, a distinction between the physical experience of using tablets and smartphones versus laptops. The open-screen format of smartphones and tablets makes these devices seem more accessible than laptops and encourages frequent, nearly continuous use.
When it comes to devices that consumers plan to buy soon, tablets are already more popular than desktop computers, and are gaining ground on laptops. [Computers/Electronics, Telecommunications]
Sources: “From Apps to Everyday Situations,” Ericsson ConsumerLab, Mikael Eriksson Bjorling, Consumer Behavior Expert, SE-164 80 Stockholm, Sweden; 011-46-10-719-0000; asq.us@ericsson.com; www.ericsson.com. Price: Available online at no charge.
“Q1 2011 Mobile Connected Device Report,” Nielsen, Elizabeth Luke, Communications Analyst, Mobile, 700 Broadway, New York, NY 10003; phone: 646-654-5000; elizabeth.luke@nielsen.com; www.nielsen.com. Price: Selected data available online at no charge.
“Smartphone Survey, May 2011,” Prosper Mobile Insights, Phil Rist, EVP Strategic Initiatives, 450 W. Wilson Bridge Rd., #370, Worthington, OH 43085; 614-846-0146; phil@bigresearch.com; www.bigresearch.com. Price: Available online with registration.
© Copyright 2011, EPM Communications, Inc. May not be reproduced without written consent of publisher.