The Smartphone Age: Smartphone Shipments Exceed PCs
2010 marked the milestone of the start of a new computing and communications era. For the first time in the US, smartphone shipments exceeded the traditional computer segments (desktops, notebooks and netbooks). In 2011, the smartphone segment, along with connected devices will not only exceeded the computer segment in unit shipment but more importantly, in overall revenues as well.
According to a Berg Insight report dated March 2011, global shipments of smartphones increased 74 percent in 2010 to 295 million units. Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 32.4 percent, shipments are forecasted to reach 1,200 million units in 2015. The global user base of smartphones increased at the same time by 38 percent year-on-year to an estimated 470 million active users in 2010. In the next five years, the global user base of smartphones is forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 42.9 percent to reach 2.8 billion in 2015. Most importantly, an increasing number of users are now discovering how smartphones can act as a substitute for PC, camera, music player, phone, game console, chat machine, calculator, brain booster and are updating their wireless phones every 12 to 18 months as new more technologically advanced models are launched.
Roman Kikta – Author, “Wireless Internet Crash Course” and “3G Wireless Demystified”