Global analytics firm, Gartner has said in a new report that the smartphones sales have crossed the one billion mark in the global market.

The milestone represents a large number of handheld internet-enabled and multi functional devices around the world. However, there are 6.3 billion phone connections globally indicating that there are six times the number of smartphone users are people using basic mobile phones.

The data also shows a demographic device in the use of smartphones as the advanced countries have most number of internet-enabled multi-purpose phones while Africa has higher penetration of feature phones. It is also to be noted that the difference between a feature phone and a smartphone is beginning to fade as several feature phones now offer Wi-Fi and mobile broadband access.

Data also indicates that several countries have a higher number of phones subscribed compared to their actual populations. This is because some phones are used to connect other devices like 3G modems while some users use multi-sim devices to take advantage of different telecom operator offerings. The increasing adoption of smarthphones in emerging world will change the telecom industry and advertising efforts globally as more people begin to access internet through their handheld devices.