Smartphone Market Hot Right Now
By Allan Pulga
The smartphone and 3G cellular technology really took off in 2006. As predicted by analysts, both saw rapid growth, particularly in the major markets of Asia and Europe. The North American market has certainly caught the smartphone fever, with the help of more affordable models from popular manufacturers like Research In Motion (RIM) and Motorola. And experts anticipate 3G data services will continue to gain momentum through 2007.
Market research firm IDC has reported about 24 million smartphones were shipped globally in the fourth quarter of 2006. Canalys Research recently reported 64 million smartphones were shipped worldwide in 2006, with an increase of 30 per cent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2006.
IDC defines smartphones as based on high-end operating systems, which enable advanced messaging functionality including secure push e-mail and multimedia features, including the ability to play digital music and video clips and display digital images: 3G.
Most industry analysts simplify the smartphone definition to “a mobile device that combines the functions of a mobile phone, personal digital assistant and mobile e-mail communicator,” writes Paul Taylor of The Financial Times.
However you categorize the smartphone, it’s hot these days. “Most analysts expect smartphone sales to grow by about 30 per cent this year,” adds Taylor. Nokia, still the world’s top handset maker, is also the smartphone market leader, accounting for 50 per cent of all shipments in the fourth quarter of 2006. RIM returned to second place, with device shipments rising 54 per cent year-on-year for the quarter. Sony Ericsson had massive gains, cracking the top five for the first time since early 2004.
Here are Canalys’ top worldwide smartphone manufacturers for Q4 2006:
% Share % Growth (Q4’06/Q4’05)
- Nokia 50.2 19.9
- RIM 8.3 54.3
- Motorola 6.6 88.2
- Palm 5.5 -22.5
- Sony Ericsson 5.1 946.2
- Others 24.3 29.3
In North America, RIM retained its position as the leading smartphone vendor with the success of its BlackBerry Pearl handset, ahead of Palm for the second quarter running. However, RIM lost some market share due to competition from Motorola’s Q and Samsung’s knockoff-named Blackjack.