The time has come when we may say that the world is getting smarter day by day! With the shooting up of smartphone sales globally, the world may become a better place to live in. Manufacturers are taking up sufficient measures to enhance their productivity per sales ratio and thus are changing the face of contemporary cell phone market overall.
With the advent of cutthroat competition between cell phone giants, the global scenario seems to be getting some abrupt changes regarding the sales of smartphones. The market is seeing a change as the focal point of cell phone sales is gradually getting concentrated towards contemporary smartphones.
Apple’s iPhone has seriously made the customer want the best of the best and this has considerably widened a buyer’s perspective of buying a cell phone. With the customer getting brand conscious and functionality conscious as well, the cell phone manufacturers have to shell out some state of the art smartphones regarding the same. Another in the rising race of smartphones is the ‘dual-mode WiFi/Cellular phones’ that has been a treat as it offers an amalgamation of superior wireless internet connections and 2G cell phone networks which in-turn gives you a freedom of swapping between efficient networks.
We may define a smartphone as follows –
Mobile phones that have features more reminiscent of a personal computer or PDA – including operating systems, calendar and email applications, GPS navigation systems, cameras, media players and the ability to install new applications.
The best examples one may find regarding this emerging concept are – the BlackBerry variants, Nokia 9210, the iPhone and Samsung BlackJack. All of these smartphones have given a new facade to the existing cellphone industry.
An in-depth global survey regarding the sales of smartphones has revealed that there is a bit meltdown in the revenues due to cutthroat competition. We will soon experience a situation of ‘perfect competition’ with respect to the smartphone sales.
Developing countries like India have shown some immediate growth rates in the sales of smartphones and this proves a good old fact that technology never gets obsolete, it only emerges out of its cocoon and gets better and better every moment. The new generation is the generation of 3G networks and high velocity network communications.
Directing analyst for wireless at Infonetics Research, Richard Webb, threw some light on the updates:
Till now, smartphone purchasers have been largely business power-users. However, the launch of Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s BlackJack – media-playing smartphones, which appeal to consumers – is giving the smartphone segment a boost, and could change the dynamics of the mobile phone market. Vendors will design more consumer-oriented smartphones, and cause fierce competition among incumbent players.
Drastic slumps are seen since last year in the sales of WiFi phones, experiencing a fall of 8% to $5 billion as seen in 1Q07. Industry reports would show some radical changes in FMC, Fixed Mobile Convergence that gives an impetus to global mobile manufacturers to launch their innovations constantly. These new technologies are well equipped with the latest wireless LANs and IP PBX technologies that are here to make our lives simpler and faster. Wireless and VoIP-enabled equipments have already created their buzz in this industry, and would continue to rule until a superior technology emerges.
Some of the key features of this report are –
Worldwide revenue for mobile phones is expected to total $117.5 billion in 2010, an 18% drop from 2006
GSM phones made up 45% of worldwide mobile phone revenue in 2006, smartphones made up 18%, and the remainder was made up by CDMA, W-CDMA, and CDMA2000 phone sales
Worldwide revenue for the small but fast growing smartphone segment grew 10% in 1Q07 from 4Q06, driven by the wider availability of 3G, which unlocks the media application potential of smartphones beyond email
In 2006, 20% of total mobile phone revenue came from North America, 34% from EMEA, 36% from Asia Pacific, and 10% from CALA
The number of mobile subscribers grew 26% to 2.5 billion in 2006
Dual-mode WiFi/cellular phone sales are forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 31% from 2006 to 2010, driven by healthy adoption in enterprise and consumer markets
Seamless handover FMC phones are expected to represent 35% of the dual-mode WiFi/cellular phone market by 2010, vs. 3% in 2006
Nokia leads in dual-mode WiFi/cellular phone revenue in 2006, ahead of Sony Ericsson and Motorola.
Via: Gizmag