Smartphones and appliances

PHONE-crazy Australians are behind a huge leap in numbers of smartphones like Apple's iPhone being sold.

More than $500 million was spent on the gadgets in the three months to the end of June — a 92 per cent increase on the same time last year.

The smartphone boom has come at the expense of traditional mobile phones, with their sales tumbling almost 50 per cent to $200 million, the latest GfK TEMAX consumer electronics survey says.

However, the statistics reveal a general fall in consumer confidence, with overall sales down 5.2 per cent.

GfK spokeswoman Gwenno Hopkin said consumers' passion for social networking and surfing the net on the move was helping to drive the smartphone explosion.

"Smartphones are becoming standard now and people are looking for that kind of functionality in the phones on offer," she said.