By 2016, 66% of Workers Will Use Smart Phones

“In 2016, two-thirds of the mobile workforce will own a smart phone, and 40 percent of the workforce will be mobile,” sayts Crolina Milanesi, Gartner VP.

Gartner estimates that in 2012 purchases of tablets by businesses will reach 13 million units and will more than triple by 2016, to reach 53 million units. 

Some 821 million smart devices (smart phones and tablets) will be purchased worldwide in 2012 and pass the billion mark in 2013, Gartner says. Smart devices will account for 70 percent of total devices sold in 2012.

“For most businesses smart phones and tablets will not entirely replace PCs, but the ubiquity of smart phones and the increasing popularity of tablets are changing the way businesses look at their device strategies and the way consumers embrace devices,” said Milanesi. 

Gartner estimates that 56 percent of smart phones purchased by businesses in North America and Europe will be Android devices in 2016, up from 34 percent in 2012 and virtually no penetration in 2010.