According to new research on the Australian smartphone market, almost two thirds of the entire population of the continent owned a smartphone. Furthermore, the research suggested that the average Australian increased his time spent online using smartphones that desktops and other devices.

In 2011, only 37% of Australians own a smartphone. Currently, the ownership ballooned to over 64%. Analysts believe that the wide array of choices, faster operating systems, a plethora of applications and fast internet connection all contributed to this swelling of the market.

Australia was among the countries with the largest penetration rates in the first world, even higher than the United States, United Kingdom, France, or Germany. The data was gathered by Ipsos and Google.

A year ago, the penetration rate reached 50% already. It's no surprise that the ownership rate increased even more this year, according to analysts.

Samsung currently sits at the top of the smartphone industry with a 30.4% hold of the market. This figure is lower than last year's second quarter report of 32.2%. Apple, on the other hand, had 13.1% of the market share.