Smart sees sharp rise in smartphone usage

MANILA, Philippines - Wireless leader Smart Communications expects smartphone usage in the Philippine to rise sharply in 2012 given the growth momentum established late last year.

According to Smart chief wireless advisor Orlando Vea, the company has seen a doubling of the number of subscribers using smartphones in the last four months of 2011 due to the growing demand of mobile Internet and increased availability of devices.

“Our subscribers have responded very well to our attractive and innovative smartphone offers campaigns, particularly in the second half of the year. At the same time, our network modernization program which is far ahead of the competition, is already delivering a superior mobile Internet experience to our subscribers today,” Vea said.

From end August to end December 2011, Smart has noted a steep rise in the use of the top three mobile operating systems in its network. Google’s Android tallied the highest increase with a 300-percent spike, followed by BlackBerry with 66 percent, and Apple iOS with 62 percent. The figures were culled from a series of one-day snapshots of Smart’s network taken every month. “The growth of iOS is significant given that Smart started offering iPhones only last December 2011,” Vea noted.

In mid-2011, Smart launched the affordable Netphone 701, followed by the introduction of the Samsung Galaxy Y Netphone edition which feature Google’s Android mobile operating system and the SmartNet suite of applications.

SmartNet allows subscribers to check on their balance in real time, chat with other Netphone users for free, and to search and add contacts from the cloud. Sales of the Netphone, particularly the Galaxy Y Netphone edition, have been robust since the already affordable handsets were marketed bundled with attractive voice and data plans. This device plan combo has been doing particularly well in the “first time smartphone user” market segment.

In December, Smart further diversified its smartphone portfolio started by offering the popular Apple iPhone 4S. Going by its slogan of “Everyone deserves an iPhone”, Smart also offers the iPhone plans which start at Plan 999–the lowest and most affordable iPhone plan in the Philippines.

Also included in Smart’s roster is the 5-inch Samsung Galaxy Note “phablet” (phone + tablet) which is free at Unlimited Data Plan 2000. This year Smart kicked once again bolstered its lineup with the first smartphone which runs on Android 4 “Ice Cream Sandwich) OS, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Like the Galaxy Note, the Galaxy Nexus is available for free, exclusively from Smart, at Unlimited Data Plan 2000.