One-Seventh of the Worlds Population Got a Smart Phone Last Year By David Nagel01/28/14 In 2013, for the first time ever, the number of smart phones shipped worldwide in a year topped 1 billion. Thats about one smart phone for every seven human beings alive. According to new research from International Data Corp., smart phone shipments grew by a massive 38.4 percent from the previous year, hitting a little more than 1.01 billion units in 2013. In another first, smart phones also made up the majority of all cell phone shipments (55.1 percent) in 2013. In 2012, smart phones were only 41.7 percent of the total. Total mobile phone shipments, including non-smart phones, hit 1,821.8 million units in 2013, up 4.8 percent from 2012. Driving this growth, according to Ryan Reith, program director with IDCs Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, are large screen sizes and reduced device costs. Among the top trends driving smartphone growth are large screen devices and low cost, Reith said in a statement released to coincide with the report. Of the two, I have to say that low cost is the key difference maker. Cheap devices are not the attractive segment that normally grabs headlines, but IDC data shows this is the portion of the market that is driving volume. Markets like China and India are quickly moving toward a point where sub-$150 smartphones are the majority of shipments, bringing a solid computing experience to the hands of many. The sheer volume and strong growth attest to the smartphones continued popularity in 2013, says Ramon Llamas, Research Manager with IDCs Mobile Phone team. Total smartphone shipments reached 494.4 million units worldwide in 2011, and doubling that volume in just two years demonstrates strong end-user demand and vendor strategies to highlight smartphones. Samsung and Apple were, by far, the leading manufacturers of smart phones. Samsung, with nearly one-third of the market (31.3 percent), shipped 313.9 million units in...
Posted on: Thu, 30 Jan 2014 10:05:05 +0000
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