Aussies crazy about phones
EVEN though smartphones are taking over the world, mobile phone guru Joel Smith says there is still a market for the classic push-button mobile phone.
"It's not unusual for someone to come in and buy a push-button mobile instead of a touch-screen one," he said yesterday, pulling out a push-button display model he said he had just sold.
He said they were mostly popular among tradesmen and seniors.
The Forbes Batteries and Communications communication sales professional's comments came after Telstra chief executive officer David Thodey said Australia had become one of the top two users of smartphones in the world (per head of population) in Brisbane on Monday.
Mr Thodey said Australia also owned the greatest number of Apple smartphones in the world per head of population as well - a figure Mr Smith agreed with.
Mr Smith said Australians loved to try new things.
"The iPhones are our number one seller here," he said.
Mr Smith said the smartphone craze began when the internet became easily accessible on a mobile phone.
"That started the ball rolling and then the app (application) stores came along," he said.
Mr Smith said iPhone users could buy apps such as games Angry Birds, Draw Something and Words with Friends, which had become very popular among users in recent times.
He said another app which was popular among users was Skype which allowed users to communicate with peers by voice, video and instant messaging over the internet.
Mr Smith said another reason smartphones were so popular was the easy access to email they provided.
"We get businessmen coming in wanting phones they can use their email on - it's what they use their phones for mostly."
While the iPhone was the most popular, Mr Smith said phones like the Samsung Galaxy S2 were also being snapped-up by smartphone enthusiasts.
The iPhones are our number one seller here.
