More users of smartphones reported that these devices are essential to their business than the users of PDAs or laptops, new research has claimed.

However, the report from In-Stat http://www.in-stat.com, predicts that the popularity of smartphones does not necessarily mean that there will be automatic acceptance of the devices and widespread replacement of PDAs and laptops.

"Wireless manufacturers have more work to do before converged phones start taking market share from other devices instead of just complementing their sales," said Bill Hughes, In-Stat analyst.

Users want a number of feature improvements including better keyboards, automatic synching with other devices, applications that have the same look and feel as on other devices, and expandable screens."

The research, Converged Devices: SmartPhones vs. Laptops and PDAs in Business Markets, found that smartphones represent about 10 per cent of the wireless phone market today. This is expected to grow to 25 per cent of the overall global market over the next five years.

In many cases, users were found to carry devices that have redundant applications. This behaviour is in spite of the desire to have fewer devices.