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'Ultra Smart' Vs. 'smart Enough' Competition to Drive Down Smartphone Prices
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Global smartphone sales totaled $45.9 billion in the first quarter of 2012, down 3% from the typically high fourth quarter, according to Infonetics Research. By 2016, Infonetics expects the worldwide smartphone market to hit $237 billion.
Apple holds a strong lead in the global smartphone market, with 45.7% revenue market share in 1Q12. Samsung, which surpassed HTC about a year ago, easily held on to 2nd place for global smartphone revenue, well ahead of RIM, Nokia, and HTC.
"We expect to see some segmentation in the smartphone market in the next 12 to 24 months between high-end 'ultra smart' smartphones and a new breed of 'smart enough' smartphones aimed at the lower end of the market," anticipates Richard Webb, directing analyst for microwave, mobile offload, and mobile broadband devices at Infonetics Research. "ZTE and Huawei have already launched lower-cost smartphones this year with others surely to follow, and if they achieve volume, the average selling price of a smartphone very likely will get pushed down."
The Android operating system (OS) hit its highest market share to date in 1Q12, used in 57% of all smartphones shipped.
Demand for embedded mobile broadband devices continues unabated, with shipments of MIDs (mobile Internet devices, such as e-readers and mobile gaming consoles) growing the fastest over the next 5 years.
Tablets will continue to make up the lion's share of the embedded devices segment, and will be a major focus of activity and innovation in the mobile broadband space, with LTE as a big driver supporting faster speeds for video streaming, multiplayer gaming, and multimedia communications.
Tags: [smartphone]
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