BERLIN: Almost half of adult Germans go online using a mobile device every day as the use of smartphones and tablets has increased sharply over the past year, according to new research.

Trade body BCVDW co-operated with Google, the internet giant, and TNS, the researcher, in the production of a study – Mobile Fascination: distribution, usage patterns and trends – which examined the development of the mobile sector. It found that over the past year the use of smartphones had increased ten percentage points to 50% and the use of tablets five points to 20%.

More than half of those surveyed (54%) said they went online more often now they owned a smartphone, while 61% indicated their use was more intensive. This was more true of men (60%) than women (48%), while fully 83% of students said they went online more often than before now they had a smartphone.

There was also a distinct divide within the country, with the east (63%) more likely to be using smartphones to go online than the west (52%).

The increasing use of such devices had also boosted the trend towards multiscreening. Two years ago Germans used 1.7 internet-enabled devices on average but that figure now stands at 2.4. Further, 14% regularly used three devices – PC, smartphone and tablet.

Smartphone users were far more attached to their devices than feature phone owners, as almost one third (30%) said it was their most important tech device. And 87% said they loved using it compared to just 41% of feature phone owners.

That sentiment was almost universal among 30-39 year olds (99%) and was more likely to be felt by women (91%) than men (82%).

"It is important that advertisers follow the consumer and that they respond optimally via the mobile channel. There is always plenty to do," stated Philipp Justus, Managing Director for Google Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Data sourced from BVDW; additional content by Warc staff