57 per cent of the EU5s 241m mobile users said they now own a smartphone, according to comScores 2013 Europe Digital Future in Focus report looking at the three months to December 2012.

December was the first month where France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK all had more than 50 per cent smartphone penetration. While mobile owners in the region are more likely to be women, the average European smartphone owner is a man aged 25-44.

Spain remained the country with the largest mobile audience, 66 per cent, with the UK second at 64 per cent. UK mobile users are the most likely to use mobile web, with smartphones and tablets taking a 30.8 per cent share of page views, with the remainder on desktop.

75 per cent of all phone sales in Q4 2012 were smartphones, up from 66 per cent at the same time a year earlier. Samsung is still the most popular manufacturer across the region with a 32 per cent share, while Google is the operating system of choice, used by 50 per cent of EU5 smartphone users. Apple was the second largest OS, but Microsoft has gained just a 5 per cent share. 23m mobile users have a smartphone and tablet – up 94 per cent on the previous year.

While the online video audience grew 5 per cent during the past year, the number of mobile viewers jumped by 162 per cent. YouTube, Dailymotion, Facebook and VEVO are the top places to watch this content. 19.2m smartphone users purchased a product or service on their device in the three months to December 2012, 14 per cent, with 37.3 percent of these shoppers purchasing clothing or accessories. 

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