Awareness Up By One-Third, Familiarity Doubles, But Interest Remains Flat, Ipsos-Insight Study Reveals -- Awareness of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) rose dramatically in the past year, with 62 percent of American Internet users now aware that they can use their Internet connection to make telephone calls, up from 41 percent only a year ago, according to a recent study conducted by Ipsos-Insight of more than 1,200 Internet users in the U.S. Most consumers surveyed are aware that they can use their regular phone for VoIP telephony, that they can have multiple lines connected, and that they can use their Internet connection while making phone calls. However, the 33 percent increase in awareness has not yet translated into wide-spread adoption of VoIP. Consumer familiarity with the burgeoning technology grew dramatically over the past year, with 9 percent of respondents indicating that they were �very familiar� with VoIP and 20 percent of respondents stating they were �somewhat familiar.� Last year, only 4 percent of respondents were very familiar with VoIP, and 14 percent were somewhat familiar.
The global smartphone market closed 2025 with a story less about recovery and more about transformation. Premium product, ecosystem lock-in, and manufacturing scale are now the forces shaping competition. For business and technology leaders, the latest IDC market study data confirms that smartphones remain a critical indicator of consumer demand, supply chain health, and AI commercialization at the edge. Smartphone Market Development Global smartphone shipments grew 2.3 percent year-over-year in Q4 2025, reaching 336.3 million units and bringing full-year volumes to 1.26 billion units — a modest 1.9 percent annual increase, according to IDC. This smartphone growth emerged despite a memory shortage crisis, tariff volatility, supply chain disruption, and macroeconomic headwinds. What stabilized demand? Two factors: sustained growth in premium devices and strong foldable momentum, combined with accelerated purchases as consumers bought ahead of anticipated price increases. Buyers weren...