Android will be Europe's favourite mobile OS next year - research

Consumer Confidence

Meanwhile, as smartphones continue to soar, another research firm, GfK NOP saw its Consumer Confidence Index slide 2 points in November to -21.

The index, which looks at Brits' confidence in their personal finances as well as the UK as a whole, is 4 points lower than this time last year and there was a drop in confidence in 4 of the index's 5 categories.

Overall, consumers are less confident in their own personal finance situation over the next 12 months as well as the general economy, the report said. It said confidence in the UK economy will fall marginally again over the next 12 months, as well as Brits' confidence in their own finances.

Perhaps most importantly to technology and phone manufacturers though is the report's belief that the climate for major purchases has deteriorated by 2 points to -17.

"This month's fall in consumer confidence- which remains in the negative- is clearly not good news but there will be some crumbs of comfort for the government. There would need to be a further drop next month before we could definitely say things are getting worse and that people really are concerned about the impact of cuts in the Comprehensive Spending review," said Nick Moon, MD of GfK Nop Social Research.

"What is more worrying in this month's figures is that the worst performing elements of the index are those that look to the future, with a 5 point fall in confidence for people's personal situation over the next 12 months. Consumer confidence appears to be finely balanced - we have seen the index see-saw between rises and falls every month since July. December's findings could therefore indicate what kind of 2011 the country can expect to see," he added.

Here is a chart of the Gfk NOP Confidence Index.