Scottish smart phone ownership highest in UK

ALMOST half of Scotland’s households now own a tablet computer and are taking up smart phones at a faster rate than anywhere else in the UK.

42 per cent of households also own a tablet device or iPad. Picture: Greg Macvean

Ofcom research found 42 per cent of homes now have a tablet device such as an iPad or Kindle Fire - up from 24 per cent last year.

Take-up of smart phones has risen from 45 per cent to 62 per cent this year and now exceeds the UK average of 61 per cent.

Homes with broadband rose from 70 per cent to 76 per cent over the year, just below the national figure of 77 per cent. Eight in 10 homes in Scotland (81 per cent) now have internet access, in line with the rest of the UK.

According to Ofcom’s Communications Market Report, people in Scotland spend the most time per day (11 hours, 41 minutes) on media and communications, including television, of all the UK nations. The average is 11 hours and seven minutes.

Internet users claimed to spend 16 hours and 30 minutes online per week, slightly less than the UK average of 16 hours and 54 minutes.

The research showed Scots remain loyal to their television sets when catching up on programmes, however. Four in 10 “media” minutes were spent watching TV in the traditional manner rather than through online catch-up services.

Vicki Nash, director of Ofcom in Scotland, said: “Scotland is now keeping up the rest of the UK in the take-up and use of communications services and devices and in fact in some areas we are ahead of the UK average.

“This is a marked change from the past when we were less prolific users.”

Ofcom surveyed 3,750 over-16s in the UK, including 501 in Scotland, in January and February this year.