According to the study, almost a third of all consumer respondents predicted they would buy a smartphone the next time they upgraded their mobile handset. The strong growth for smartphones will be led by the U.S. market, where demand for the high-end handsets "grew by a factor of five from the levels found between 2005 and 2007."
The $3500 report, "Smartphones: Heading to the Mainstream," is touted as including projections of smartphone OS market shares through 2013. In its publicly released excerpts, In-Stat didn't say what share it expects Microsoft's Windows Mobile to hold by then, but made clear that it expects Linux (including Google's Android) to pose a serious threat.
According to In-Stat, Linux will "see the highest growth" and will "outpace Windows Mobile, RIM, and [Apple's] iPhone OSX." Smartphones including versions of the open-source operating system will have "the second highest volume behind Symbian," the company added.
Other findings released from the study include the assertion that the lack of security on smartphone platforms will be a growing problem for the format. Another potential challenge, indicated by recent studies of iPhone users, is that customers are downloading relatively few smartphone applications. Despite these and other challenges, In-Stat joins other
recent analyses in predicting that smartphones will weather the recession relatively unscathed.
"Strong demand is being driven by device manufacturers leveraging open OS devices to re-invent the mobile phone experience," stated Frank Dickson, VP, Mobile Internet Group at In-Stat. "New and prospective smartphone buyers are drawn to new mobile applications, even though the median number of applications downloaded for all platforms, including the Apple iPhone, is relatively modest--below five applications per user for each platform."
The In-Stat study is said to cover the following topics:
- Forecasts and market shares for smartphone OS sales to 2013
- Global sales of smartphones by region
- Global upside potential and threats to the smartphone market
- Approaches to ensure security of smartphones and cellphones
- End-user research of non-users of smartphones
- Buying behavior for different smartphone platforms
- Non-user interest in buying smartphones
- Changes in attitudes regarding preferences for features and applications
AvailabilityThe In-Stat report, "Smartphones: Heading to the Mainstream," is available now, says the research firm. More information may be found
here.
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