A growing number of people may be able to use printing apps and ink supplies to produce documents from Android phones, as the technology is encouraging individuals to upgrade their gadgets.

This is according to global consumer insight director at Kantar Worldpanel Dominic Sunnebo, who noted many users may be adopting the technology because of the range of options afforded to them by the operating system.

"What Android's managing to do is convert people from feature phones over to the smartphone market – and I think pricing plays a key part in that," he said.

The fact there are now over 100 handsets available that use the software is another positive feature for the innovation, the expert continued.

As a growing number of people upgrade their mobile devices to smartphones, they may find they can use them to perform a range of activities, from taking and editing photos to working on business documents.

Mobile printing apps that can connect the devices directly to a PC could therefore be an important add-on for many individuals.