New data indicates that Korean mobile consumers are still the fastest to adopt smartphones of any other market. Earlier this year we reported that smartphone penetration had reached 60%, and the new figure (only 2 months later) shows that a massive 67% of South Korean mobile subscribers use smartphones.

What is also perhaps surprising is that of the 10 countries included in the research (chosen as the countries believed to have the highest penetration), the US lagged far behind at merely 53% penetration. The Chinese market looks set to take the crown soon however, having shown dramatic growth this year, with penetration rising to 66%, just behind Korea. Australia follows with 65%, according to the data from U.S. market researcher Nielsen.
South Korea also had one of the highest subscription rates for data price plans among smartphone users.
The proportion of South Korean smartphone subscribers who used data price plans rose to 89%, the second highest after the US, at 96%.
In line with high smartphone usage and popularity of data price plans, South Korea also ranked third in terms of monthly mobile fees. South Korean smartphone users currently spend an average of US$50.1 each month, compared to $92 in the US and $52 in Australia users, the data showed.
In contrast, South Korea ranked 8th in terms of multiple handset use. A total of 16% of South Korean mobile users used more than two devices, surpassing only India's 11% and Turkey's 7%.
A total of 51% of Russian mobile subscribers used more than two devices, while in Brazil the figure was 48% and in China 36%, according to the data.

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