MUMBAI: While smartphones have gone mainstream in many regions around the globe, adoption among emerging countries is still developing. According to new research from Nielsen, China is the only country among the high-growth Bric (Brazil, Russia, India, China) markets where smartphones are predominant, owned by two-thirds of Chinese mobile subscribers as of the first half of 2012.

In contrast, feature phones—devices with no touchscreen, QWERTY keypad or operating system—are still dominant in India and Russia, owned by 80 per cent and 51 per cent of mobile subscribers, respectively.

There’s no clear favourite type of mobile device in Brazil, with mobile ownership split between 44 percent feature phones, 36 per cent smartphones and 21 per cent multimedia phones (touchscreen and/or QWERTY keypad, but no operating system).

Much the same manner as social media, smartphones–with their advanced functionality and access to a multitude of apps–influence everything from consumers’ interaction with both brands and each other, to and shopping and purchase decisions.