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Telecommunications 2008 the “year of the smartphone” says Telsyte
Telecommunications 2008 the “year of the smartphone” says Telsyte | 2008 the “year of the smartphone” says Telsyte |
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| by Alex Zaharov-Reutt | |
| Monday, 20 October 2008 | |
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Apple’s iPhone, Nokia’s N-Series phones (such as the N95 and N96), HTC’s Touch range and previous incarnations, BlackBerry devices, Sony Ericsson’s Cybershot range of camera phones and other brands of Windows Mobile smartphones have all been with us for a few years now, with every new model advancing the power and capabilities of the smartphone. The last 12 months has seen the iPhone 3G, HTC’s Touch Diamond and Touch Pro, the BlackBerry Bold and upcoming Storm, the upcoming Nokia XpressMedia 5800 ‘Tube’ phone and other iPhone-esque devices from Samsung and LG. Research firm Telsyte says there have been 50 models this year already, with the BlackBerry Storm and Nokia 5800 still to arrive in the weeks and months to come. So quickly has the popularity of smartphones grown that over the last five years, the annual smartphone shipment has grown by a whopping 40 times. Although one might now expect the economic crisis and predicted higher unemployment rates might cause shipments to shrink a little over the next year or two, most phones have always been sold on a 24-month contract. This obviously spreads the cost out over 24 months so consumers aren’t paying several hundred or more dollars out upfront, so as long as this doesn’t change, the ever evolving smartphone should continue being an easily attainable digital toy and tool. Warren Chaisatien, Telsyte Research Director said that: “2008 has been the year of the smartphone in Australia, with a record 50 models introduced this year alone,” said. Telsyte says the Apple iPhone, HTC Touch Diamond, and BlackBerry Storm, all of which feature “large touch screens with very few or no buttons, full online and multimedia capabilities, and highly intuitive gesture-based input methods” are excellent examples. Chaisatien noted however that these next-gen platforms aren’t open source, and alongside the iPhones of the world comes “the rise of next-generation smartphones is the emergence of open-source mobile platforms, such as the new Symbian and Google’s Android, which is forcing established vendors like RIM and Microsoft to watch their backs.” “As users and carriers move towards off-deck content, the key for established players is to enrich their ecosystems by opening up their platforms while maintaining their unique competitiveness and security.” So, where does Telsyte see a “large untapped market opportunity” in all of this smartphone bliss? Please read on to page 2. |
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