Half of Chinese urban people have smartphones: Google report

Nearly half of Chinese urban population have smartphones, according to a report released by Internet search giant Google.
The 'Our Mobile Planet: China' report, compiled by Google and market research company IPSOS in the first quarter, surveyed 1,000 urban Internet users between the ages of 18 and 64 and found that 47 per cent of them have smartphones.
Smartphones have become an indispensable part of people's daily lives, as 69 per cent of respondents said they access the Internet on their smartphones every day and 38 per cent never leave home without the device, Chinese state run Xinhua news agency quoted the report as saying.

About 60 per cent of smartphone users said they would rather abandon their TV sets instead of their smartphones, according to the report.
In the US , the ratio is 36 per cent, the report said.
Smartphones have also become critical shopping tools, with 98 percent of respondents having used their phones to research about products and services.
Some 69 per cent of smartphone users have made purchases on their phones, compared to only 46 per cent in the US, according to the report.
The limited size of smartphone screens and safety concerns regarding the use of credit cards are major barriers in expanding mobile business, according to the report.