Smartphones too smart for owners

LONDON, UK: With hundreds of thousands of applications available, smartphones allow users to do anything from checking their bank balance to booking a flight. But 71 per cent of owners use them simply to make a call, text or log on to Facebook, a new study shows.

The study by Envirofone, which recycles mobiles, revealed that a typical smartphone owner exploits only 10 per cent of the phone's functions, reports the Daily Mail.

The survey of 2,000 users also found more than half had felt pressured to get the latest or most popular smartphone such as Apple's iPhone4 or a BlackBerry.

The devices, among top gadgets in this year's New Year shoping list, are really pocket computers. In addition to the capacity for the downloadable programs, known as "apps," they can also browse the internet and send and receive emails.

The research estimates there are 11 million smartphones in the UK.

While there are many useful "apps" offering train information or satellit navigation functions, others are bizarre.

A Zippo lighter app displays an animated picture to wave at concerts, while Annoy-a-teen plays a high-pitched sound that only teenagers are supposed to be able to hear.

Jon Butler, of Envirofone, said: "The latest phones have become status symbols which look flashy but aren't fully utilised."