Android sales 'could boost' mobile VoIP traffic

Mobile VoIP traffic could rise following the increasing demand for smartphones with the Android operating system (OS).

Sales of UK smartphones with the Google OS rose from three per cent to 12.3 per cent within three weeks, according to research from industry advisers GFK.

Android handsets are cheaper than their Apple counterparts, which could mean more people have access to mobile IP telephony solutions.

Flora Graham, the mobile phone editor of technology review website CNET UK, was unsurprised by the rise.

She said: "You get handsets that are more affordable and handsets for different kinds of people and so when it comes to the rise in the number of handsets, I'm truly not surprised."

The growth in sales has been put down to the launch of a variety of new models, including the G2 Touch and the Motorola DEXT.

Android phones offer applications similar to those found on the iPhone, with many firms creating VoIP apps, which instantly turn a normal handset into VoIP hardware.

Meanwhile, Android has now overtaken Apple as the second biggest mobile OS in the US, with 28 per cent of the market share.