Explosion in smart phone sales in Europe last year. In 2011, demand for mobile phones once again increased in Europe, largely as a result of the rising popularity of smart phones, according to a survey by GfK consultants. More than one in three mobile phones purchased are smart phones. Last year, 258 million handsets were bought by European consumers, a 3.2% increase on 2010. The smart phone subsector rose dramatically last year by rate of 67%. In 2010, smart phones only constituted 22% of the sales market, but in 2011 this figure increased to 36%. In December 2011, the share climbed to 45%. Retailers in all 25 surveyed countries in Europe registered high double-digit sales, ranging between 35% in the United Kingdom and 105% in the Eurasian countries of Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkey and the Ukraine. With a volume share of over 17%, the United Kingdom is the biggest market for smart phones in Europe at present, followed by Germany, Austria and Switzerland with 16% overall. The average price of mobile phones in Europe increased by 8% between 2010 and 2011, to €200. GfK retail experts anticipate that the digital devices industry, which includes mobile telephones, LCD televisions, computers, digital cameras, tablet PCs and office devices, will achieve 22% of its global sales this year through smart phone sales alone. This would equate to a growth of 4 percentage points on the 2011 figure. (IL/transl.fl)