A recently published global survey conducted by Google and Ipsos MediaCT states that Israelis are the most fervent Smartphone users in the world.

The survey, taken in the first quarter of 2013, was based on the responses of 1,000 global Smartphone users between the ages of 18 and 64.

In 2012, the Smartphone penetration in the Israeli market stood at 35%, while so far this year it has gone up to 57%, witnessing a substantial 22% rise. Britain is the only country ahead of Israel, where 62% of the population own Smartphone.

Spain came in third with 55% Smartphone users while France and Germany are ranked 4th and 5threspectively with 42% and 40% of their populations owning Smartphones.

While Britain slightly edged Israel in terms of Smartphone ownership, but in terms of the device’s usage, the middle-eastern country surpassed all the European countries and America.

According to the survey, the most extensive use of Smartphone in Israel takes place at home (87%), at work (77%) or while travelling home from work or during a walk (72%).

The survey also revealed the details of Israelis’ Smartphone use habits. The country’s people make more use of searches (93%), applications (86%), maps (84%) and social network updates (82%) than people of any other country.

Israelis are also ahead of all other nations in watching videos on the small screens, with 77% viewing the clips on YouTube and other video sharing websites and 48% watching the full length TV shows online.

Israeli Smartphone users left the other nations behind them in every possible parameter. However, an area where they appeared more conservative than the other countries, is online shopping with only 31% saying they used their handsets to purchase items online, compared with 46% of Americans and 39% of Britons.

For more information on the world of mobile head to the Mobile World Congress 2014 in Barcelona, taking place 24-27 February, 2014. Contact EAS for best in quality accommodation in Mobile world congress 2014, marketing and event management.

It seems as time goes by more and more of us around the world are using our mobile devices to view television and films throughout the family home.

The latest research from Motorola Mobility’s Fourth Media Engagement Barometer shows that globally consumers are now watching 25 hours of TV and film programming per week on their mobile devices, up from 15 hours in 2011.

The most notable change is that people are now using their mobile devices in preference to broadcast television. The survey, which asked 9,500 consumers in 17 countries, found that of the 36 percent of respondents who watch video programming in the bedroom, 46 percent view it on a smartphone, 41 percent on a tablet and 36 percent on broadcast TV.

People are even viewing content in more unusual parts of the home with 9 percent of tablet owners and 16 percent of smartphone owners admitting to consuming content in the bathroom, while 10 percent of tablets are used in the kitchen.

In spite of this, the living room is still the centre of home entertainment with 50 percent of people watching broadcast TV here, although in Sweden and the UK the figures were as high as 81 percent and 75 percent.

The research also revealed that consumers are frustrated by the lack of flexibility of mobile devices according to John Burke, senior vice president and general manager at Motorola Mobility. “Increasingly people are using tablets and smartphones to view their content, and they expect this experience to transition seamlessly across their favourite programmes, whenever and wherever they like,” he said. Among those surveyed, 76 percent said they want the capability to move video content between devices automatically.

Another reason people are increasingly using mobile devices to watch TV and films is the ability to record programmes and skip ads. The study reveals that 68 percent of people globally and 75 percent in the US record broadcast TV to skip the ads – a trend that is proving to be an ongoing challenge for the TV networks.

For more information on how mobile viewing habits are changing head down to next year’s Mobile World Congress 2014. For all your accommodation needs in the city look to EAS, your friendly local travel agent. We have rooms in all the best Barcelona hotels and most centrally located apartments. We’ll organise your transportation, nightly entertainment and make sure your stay is as stress free as it is unforgettable. Click on this link to fill in our request form.

This year’s Mobile World Congress proved to be a huge success for both HTC and Samsung who went home with two of the event’s top awards.

The HTC One picked up the Best New Mobile Handset, Device or Tablet at the 18th Annual Global Mobile Awards held last week at the Fira Gran Via in Barcelona.

The Taiwanese smartphone maker beat off competition from the likes of the Sony Xperia Z, LG Optimus G Pro, Nokia 105 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0. Benjamin Ho, chief marketing officer for HTC, said: “We are delighted by the reactions from both consumers and the industry to the new HTC One. It is a device that has been years in the making and is one of which we are incredibly proud.”

Meanwhile the Galaxy S III was named the best smartphone of 2012 beating its main rival the iPhone 5 along with others including Nokia’s Lumia 920 and HTC’s Droid DNA.

It was a disappointing award ceremony for Apple as the American firm also lost out in the Best Tablet category to Google’s Nexus 7.

Other winners on the day included Samsung’s Galaxy Camera, which won Best Mobile Enabled Consumer Electronics Device, Facebook, which took home Best Mobile App for Consumers, and Evernote, which picked up the award for Best Mobile App for Enterprise.

Samsung also picked up the coveted Device Manufacturer of the Year award in addition to winning the Best Mobile Infrastructure and Outstanding Overall Mobile Technology.

To see first hand who wins at next year’s Mobile World Congress book your accommodation for 2014’s event now with EAS. We’ll find you the best hotels and rented apartments right in the heart of the city. Or if you prefer, why not try one of our luxury yachts – the choice is yours. Just click on this link to fill in our request form.

Nokia’s future is looking increasingly fragile as it announced it would be cutting 10,000 jobs on Thursday of last week and revealed its second profits warning in two months.

Since Stephen Elop took over as chief executive in September of last year the Finnish company has slashed 40,000 jobs as part of a cost cutting programme. Last week saw its shares fall by 18%, dropping below the €2 mark for the first time since 1996.

In a mobile world that is now dominated by ever changing smartphones, Nokia has pinned its future hopes on its Lumia range of phones which are operated by Microsoft’s Windows Phone interface. The problem is that between the lavish unveiling last November and March of this year the phone had only sold 3 million units compared with Apple’s iPhone, which had sold 72 million during the same period.

Nokia was the world’s largest mobile phone manufacturer until earlier this year when Samsung overtook it. In the last five quarters the company has burned through €2.1 billion, meaning that without a huge cost cutting programme its €4.9 billion reserves could vanish within a few years. In addition to job cuts, the firm announced it would be closing its last factory in Finland, closing research and development facilities in Germany and Canada and retreating from non-key markets so it can concentrate on America, China and the larger European economies.

Chief executive Elop stressed that Nokia’s misfortunes were down to bad marketing and promotions. “We have truly great products, but aren’t getting the traction that we would prefer,” he said.

The firm is hoping that the new operating platform Windows Phone 8 will boost sales. Microsoft is to release a test version next week, while actual Nokia phones running on the system will be available before Christmas.

To see first hand how well the firm is doing make sure you don’t miss out on the GSMA’s Mobile World Congress 2013, February 25-28 in Barcelona. Book now to avoid disappointment and arrange your accommodation through EAS, the friendly local travel agent you can trust. Based in Barcelona, we’ll find you the best hotels and rented apartments right in the heart of the city. Plus we can take care of all your transportation and entertainment requirements. Just click on this link to fill in our request form.

Mobile owners are increasingly using their smartphones to access the internet in preference of traditional PCs and laptops according to a new survey carried out by Prosper Mobile Insights.

The company, which looked into the internet habits of adults from across the world, found that seven out of ten smartphone users complete at least one web-based activity on their phone in favour of a PC or laptop, regardless of whether they are on the move or at home.

More than half of respondents (51.1%) admitted to checking their emails using only a mobile device, while 45.3% completed mobile-only web searches and 42.3% used only their phone to connect to Facebook.

All this means that today’s leading brands have an increasing need to embrace mobile advertising. But as the survey shows, they need to be aware of which ads their customers will be most receptive to. Around 1 in 10 people said they pay regular attention to sponsored stories or links, ads that play before or during a video, and video ads in general.

Video ads are the most popular with 42.9% of respondents saying they are more likely to grab their attention than other forms of advertising. The most successful video ads are ones you cannot click away from, with 30.4% of people confirming that they pay more attention to this video format.

The survey made clear that marketers should make sure that ads are delivered to the right audience. 33.5% of people said they are more likely to pay attention if the ad is relevant, 24.2% claimed they are looking for informative ads and 23.9% are more likely to be responsive to eye-catching advertising.

The world of mobile advertising is still in its infancy and there are limitless opportunities for marketers to promote their brands to a global audience. For all the latest news on how to benefit from mobile marketing head down to the Mobile World Congress 2013 in Barcelona’s Fira Gran Via, 25-28 February. If you’re after accommodation then look no further than EAS, your friendly local travel agents. We’ll find you the best hotels and rented apartments right in the heart of Barcelona. Or if you prefer, why not try one of our luxury yachts – the choice is yours. We’ll also organise all your transportation needs and book you into the city’s best restaurants. Just click on this link to fill in our request form.

The UK is now the world leader when it comes to mobile web use according to a new report by the country’s media regulator Ofcom. Brits now watch more television online, spend more on internet shopping and use tablets to access the web more than any other population.

The report, which compared data from 17 of the world’s leading economies, showed the UK leapfrogging Japan at the top of the list thanks to an obsession with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and online music services. The amount of data Brits download per month on tablets and mobiles now stands at 424 megabytes, more than 60 percent up on a year ago. In total, 16 percent of all website traffic in the UK comes from mobile devices.

“Our research reveals that the UK leads the way in using the internet on the move. Increasingly, it’s mobile devices like smartphones and tablets that are driving this growing demand for data – and in the UK it seems to be social networking sites that are behind this in particular,” stated Ofcom’s director of research James Thickett.

British 18-24-year-olds are the world’s top mobile social networkers with 62 percent accessing their profiles from smartphones and tablets, a larger proportion than any other country surveyed.

Internet shopping in the UK also topped the charts with consumers now spending an average of £1,083 online, almost £250 more per person than second placed Australia. A total of 23 percent of Brits have visited a retail website on their mobile phones, the highest percentage in Europe.

According to Ofcom a cultural habit of catalogue shopping, high credit card take-up and the early arrival in the UK of internet giants such as Amazon and eBay are reasons behind the high level of internet shopping in the country.

The Ofcom report, known as the International Communications Market Report, is an annual survey, which compares data across 17 countries including the UK, France, Germany, Spain, USA, Italy, Australia, Japan, Brazil and China.

For more information on the use of mobile internet worldwide head down to the GSMA Mobile World Congress 2013, February 25-28 at the Fira Gran Via in Barcelona. For the best hotels, rented apartments and other accommodation choices contact EAS, your local travel agents. With our expert knowledge and experience we’ll make sure you have an unforgettable stay. And we’ll even organise your transportation and nightly entertainment too. Click on this link to fill in our request form.