The smartphone market is experiencing robust growth, despite the economic downturn. Consumers are increasingly seeking well-designed devices with innovative features and applications such as touchscreen technology, wi-fi and location-based service (LBS).
In the next couple of years, software will play a major role in the mobile handset market. Therefore, mobile operators are likely to collaborate with significant participants from the internet community, the media and the entertainment industry to boost further the appeal of advanced handsets.
That’s the conclusion of new analysis from Frost & Sullivan, The Race of Smartphones, What Next? Impetus in OS and Technology Innovation in Smartphones. The study finds that by the end of 2008, 147.8m smartphones were shipped in N. America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America. This is expected to grow to 442.9m by 2014. By 2014, Asia Pacific is likely to ship 161.9m smartphones, with Western Europe accounting for 85.4m devices.
“The smartphone market will remain highly fragmented in the next five years,” says Frost & Sullivan senior industry analyst, Saverio Romeo. “Although traditional participants across the smartphone value chain will continue to dominate the market, there will be more collaboration between consumer electronic device manufacturers, and new technology vendors will be the trendsetters in the mobile market.”
Consumers’ need for the ultimate converged devices to support multiple functionalities such as touchscreen, camera/video support, dual simcard provisions, wi-fi and integrated GPS is anticipated to spur the demand for smartphones. Furthermore, says Frost. social media and internet communities, as well as application developers, are likely to gain control and prominence in the wireless and mobile market, resulting in more collaboration across the value chain. Innovation, combined with the strategy of differentiating products, will be one of the most prominent factors in achieving significant growth. 
However, falling average sale prices will continue to influence the revenue growth rate of the market. Additionally, diversified operating system (OS) platforms; intense competition among smartphone manufacturers; and poor battery life of smartphones to support multiple access technologies will affect the smartphone market in the next 4-5 years.
“Users are moving towards a complex and rich mobile experience made of communication, entertainment and productivity services,” says Romeo. “Smartphones are the right devices for this experience. Their role will increasingly become vital in the mobile communications market, driving diffusion of new services and applications.”
For more information on the study, send an e-mail to [email protected] with your full name, company name, title, and contact details.
