Global Wireless Handset Market to Reach USD 500 Bln By 2009
By Sophia Mayengbam
IT research firm In-Stat predicts that the global market for wireless handsets will grow 23 percent to USD 136 billion in 2006, and may exceed USD 250 billion in 2011. In-Stat said the wireless market has reached USD 110 billion in 2005. The firms pointed out that after 2006 the growth rate would be slower.
In-Stat said that the prediction is not preordained. According to the study it depends upon phone manufacturers continuing to add features that consumers’ value and the rest of the industry can support. The greatest challenge is to just add the features different customers want without adding unneeded cost or complexity from unneeded or unwanted features. The report includes end-user survey results that explore current customer attitudes as well as how it corresponds to their past buying behavior.
In-Stat said the goal for wireless phone manufacturers is to make customers forget they ever tolerated a phone without the new innovations. This has happened as the mobile phone has advanced dramatically in the past several years.
According to the survey, very few U.S. users, less than 5 percent, do not use at least one of the technological innovations introduced over this period. Consumers seem ready to embrace other new features, including location-based services and Bluetooth connectivity, but only a narrow segment have interest in multimedia features and camera phones use will see a decline, predicts In-Stat.
"Big trends over the next five years include adoption of wireless phones as a mobile wallet that and more users will carry multiple devices," says Bill Hughes, In-Stat analyst. "The primary changes in phones over the next five years are that they will become more capable, incorporate beefier security, and be more targeted as organizations have greater involvement in the wireless service decisions of their employees. Perhaps more importantly, they will help us be safer."
The key findings of the research, "The Big Trends for Cell Phones, 2006-2011” are:
Worldwide sales of mobile phones will rise from 935 million units in 2006 to more than double that 2011.
SmartPhone sales will surpass 480 million units by 2011.
Motorola was by far the most popular phone brand among survey respondents who obtained their phone through work.
The research covers the worldwide mobile phone market and predicts future developments for wireless phones over the next five years. The research takes into consideration the entire wireless phone value chain, which consists of phone manufacturers, supplier ecosystem, distributors, carriers, and in many cases, the organisation to which many customers belong.
