There are now over 1 billion smartphone users on the planet

In Q3 of 2012, a pretty significant milestone has been reached, according to a study by the research experts at Strategy Analytics. It is estimated that the total number of smartphone owners worldwide has surpassed the 1 billion mark for the first time ever since smartphones came to be back in 1996. In comparison, the figure stood at 0.7 billion at the end of Q3, 2011. That's huge!

Think of it this way: one in seven people around the globe have some kind of a smartphone, be it an iPhone, an Android handset, a Symbian device, or any kind of phone worthy of being called smart. But what's even more exciting is that the numbers are to go higher at an even more ridiculous pace, if the research is correct.

The folks at Strategy Analytics believe that the number of smartphone owners in the world will reach 2 billion no later than 2015. That's pretty astonishing considering that the first billion took well over a decade to reach. Furthermore, the Android user base alone will surpass the 1 billion mark in 2013, if it keeps growing at the predicted rates. All of that is because there is still a huge potential for growth, especially in markets like China, India, and African countries.

In September, Apple announced that it has shipped over 400 million iOS devices worldwide. Currently, it is estimated that over 500 million Android devices have been activated so far, with 1.3 million more going live each day.

source: Strategy Analytics