Mobiles surge in Asia

Asia-Pacific is leading a surge in the use of mobile devices as they play a more central role in people`s lives and are on track to replace conventional computers, a top Google executive said.

Ms Aliza Knox, managing director of commerce for Google Asia Pacific, said smartphones and tablets were now becoming the primary means to access the Internet in the region, adding that the United States (US) firm was making preparations to respond to that.

Four regional economies - Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and South Korea - already have higher smartphone use rates than the US, Ms Knox said.

`Asia has an insatiable appetite for mobile,` she told a forum at the CommunicAsia telecom fair in Singapore.

BdST 2234 HRS, JUN 20, 2012

Edited by:
Sabbin Hasan, ICT Editor