Use of smartphones for phone calls falling

LONDON, June 29 (UPI) -- People are using smartphones more to surf the Web, check social networks or play games, and making fewer phone calls with the devices, a British survey found.

Research by British mobile network O2 found making phone calls was only the fifth-most popular use for smartphones.

The average smartphone owner spends spend 25 minutes daily using the phone to browse the Web, 17 minutes on social networking, 13 minutes playing games and 16 minutes listening to music.

Phone calls account for just 12 minutes of use, the survey found.

"Smartphones are now being used like a digital 'Swiss Army Knife,' replacing possessions like watches, cameras, books and even laptops," David Johnson, general manager of devices for O2 in the UK, told The Daily Telegraph. "While we're seeing no let-up in the number of calls customers make or the amount of time they spend speaking on their phones, their phone now plays a far greater role in all aspects of their lives."

Fifty-four percent of the survey respondents said they use their smartphone instead of an alarm clock, while almost half said their phone has replaced their watch.