According to IDC, an international market research firm, the global smartphone market could grow 55% in 2011 when comparaed to 2010 numbers. The same report expects about 472 million units to be shipped. About 305 units were shipped in 2010. They estimate the total number of units to be shipped in 2015 to be 982 units.
The noted the following as the drivers of this high growth rate which is taking place even faster that the penetration of the ordinary phones:
– The price
Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 14 (June 3 – Sept 2, 2024) begins registrations; get massive discounts with early registration here.
Tekedia AI in Business Masterclass opens registrations here.
Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate and invest in Africa’s finest startups here.
– The functionality of the phone
– Affordable data plan
In addition to these factors, Tekedia also includes the fact that developing world is getting hungry on these gadgets. As richer people in these regions want to differentiate themselves with social symbols of wealth like better phones, they will continue to prefer these phones over the ordinary ones. This is well captured in a statement contained in the report, credited to Kevin Restivo of IDC.
The smartphone floodgates are open wide. Mobile phone users around the world are turning in their ‘talk-and-text’ devices for smartphones as these devices allow users to perform daily tasks like shopping and banking from anywhere. The growth trend is particularly pronounced in emerging markets where adoption is still in its early days. As a result, the growth in regions such as Asia/Pacific and Latin America, will be dramatic over the coming years.
The Japanese crises will not slow down this momentum across the globe. Many people have not gotten their smartphones and with more apps making it to the phones, more people will find good uses of these phones. The competition has reached a new level by the makers even as Blackberry acquired Scoreloop a gaming site.
Tekedia estimates that in the sub-Sahara African (SSA) region, the growth could be in triple digits. Analysts have expected the PC shipment growth in East Africa to be in the range of 75%, smartphone in the SSA could reached more than 100%. Nigeria will drive this growth and in that country it could be in excess of 105%. We are looked at the numbers from Ovim tablet and that gives us indicates on where the market is going.