| Japanese smartphone market grows rapidly |
Jul. 02, 2007
Smartphones will account for 13 percent of Japan's overall handset market in 2010, according to a new report from Research and Markets. Between 2005 and 2010, unit sales of the devices in Japan are forecast to grow at an average rate of 78.6 percent.
Smartphone market forecast (Japanese shipments, 2005-2010)
(Source: Research and Markets)
Specifically, the report estimates smartphone sales in Japan during 2005 and 2006 to have been 90,000 and 620,000 units, respectively, and forecasts the next four years' shipments to be 1,108,000, 1,978,000, 3,534,000, and 6,313,000 units.
Research and Markets defines "smartphones" more tightly than some other analysts, requiring them to be based on Symbian UIQ, Nokia S60/S80, Windows Mobile, Palm, Linux, or BlackBerry software platforms. "Mobile handset functions are becoming more diversified and advanced, therefore a need for high-performance operating systems is increasing," say the authors.
The authors note that Microsoft's Windows Mobile smartphone software platform gained a stronger footing in Japan during 2006. "In 2006, NTT DoCoMo [story] and Softbank started to introduce Windows Mobile-powered smartphones supplied from HTC, a Taiwan-based device manufacturer. HTC established its branch in Japan in April, 2006, and now seems ready to expand its presence" [story].
Also noted, however, is continuing competition by Symbian and other operating systems. NTT DoCoMo started providing Blackberry devices and related services in September 2006, and these are reportedly "popular among European and US businessmen," according to the report's authors.
To arrive at its projections of future growth, the firm looked at Japanese adoption curves for notebook PCs and mobile handsets in the early 1990s. "Smartphones equipped with messaging and office applications that are comparable to the personal computers are attracting attention in the Japanese business market," the authors conclude.
Further details on the report, entitled "Japanese Smartphone Market: Emerging Opportunities," can be found on the firm's website, here (3-page PDF download).
Related stories:
(Click here for further information)
|
|
|
7 Advantages of D2D Backup
For decades, tape has been the backup medium of choice. But, now, disk-to-disk (D2D) backup is gaining in favor. Learn why you should make the move in this whitepaper.
4 Legal Reasons to Control Internet Access
The Internet is obviously a valuable resource for many organizations. However, many are exposed to legal liability concerns because they fail to control Internet access. Learn if you're safe in this white paper.
Rapidly Resolve J2EE Application Problems
Whether you are in the process of building J2EE applications or have J2EE applications already running in production, you must ensure that they deliver the expected ROI. Learn how in this white paper.
Load Testing 2.0 for Web 2.0
There are many unknowns in stress testing Web 2.0 applications. Find out how to test the performance of Web 2.0 in this white paper.
Build Better Games Online
For the game infrastructure providers, life is complex. Making money from games has become more complicated. Why? Find out in this white paper.
Building a Virtual Infrastructure from Servers to Storage
This white paper discusses the virtual storage solutions that reduce cost, increase storage utilization, and address the challenges of backing up and restoring Server environments.
Gaining Faster Wireless Connections with WiMAX
Welcome to what is quickly becoming the hyperconnected world where anything that would benefit from being connected to the network will be connected. Learn more in this white paper.
Is Your Desktop a Security Threat?
The new wave of sophisticated crimeware not only targets specific companies, but also targets desktops and laptops as backdoor entryways into those business’ operations and resources. Learn how to stay safe in this white paper.
Increasing SAN Reliability by 100 Percent
Storage area networks (SAN) are a strong part of storage plans. Learn how to increase your reliability and uptime by 100 percent in this case study.
|
|
|
|
|
news feed