Three quarters of the UK small businesses use mobile phones – 60 per cent of which are smartphones – and nearly half of them use mobile apps. iPhone appears to be the most popular, followed by BlackBerry. This is according to a recent survey by London-based market research consultant, Metro Research.
The report, that questioned 95 decision makers from small companies (of under 10 employees), suggests that smartphones are second only to laptops as the most common piece of kit given to the employees. However, only 25 per cent of the respondents said they were considering purchasing more smartphones in the next 12 months.
Nearly half of small business smartphone users are using the iPhone, and over a quarter of them have a BlackBerry. These are followed by Nokia (18 per cent), HTC (12 per cent), Samsung (9 per cent) and LG (2 per cent).
Almost one out of two businesses use apps, either on phones, tablets or both. The most common apps among them are navigation, business apps, news and travel. Respondents think apps can make their life easier by helping with time management, navigation, and accessing company files remotely.
Investigating brand perception, the survey shows that Apple is seen as the technology company that most understands the need of small businesses, followed by BlackBerry and Microsoft.
