If you want to know why the buzz word in online gambling is mobile then a new report from research firm Strategy Analytics will clear things up. According to the report the milestone of 1 billion phones sold globally was reached in the third quarter of 2012. This is a steady increase from the 708 million from a year ago.

It seems strange but once upon a time Nokia reigned supreme and they were actually the first to launch what was defined as a smartphone in 1996. This was followed by RIM with Blackberry and Apple. However the modern smartphone is undoubtedly inspired by Steve Jobs who introduced the first iPhone in 2007. Since then the rest is history as Apple continues to reign supreme along with Samsung. Despite the 1 billion barrier being broken there is still room for major growth as currently  about 1 of 7 people around the globe own a smartphone.

According to Strategy Analytics’ Executive Director, Beil Mawston, “Most of the world does not yet own a smartphone and there remains huge scope for future growth, particularly in emerging markets such as China, India and Africa. The first billion smartphones in use worldwide took 16 years to reach, but we forecast the next billion to be achieved in less than three years, by 2015.”

With the recent frenzy over Apples iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S III the mobile world is continuing to have a major impact on all internet industries. As online gambling fanatics we cannot be happier with the notion of walking around with a portable casino instead of a portable computer.