IDC reported that vendors shipped
a total of 1.019 billion handsets in 2006
The worldwide mobile phone market reached a new milestone at the
close of 2006 with more than one billion units shipped worldwide
over the year, new research has reported.
IDC's Worldwide
Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker said that vendors shipped a total of
1.019 billion units in 2006, or 22.5 per cent more than the 832.8
million in 2005.
Vendors shipped 294.9 million units in the quarter ending 31
December 2006, 19.7 per cent more than the 246.4 million in the
fourth quarter of 2005. This also marked a record shipment volume
for a single quarter.
"Emerging markets contributed to the high volume sales," said Ramon
Llamas, a research analyst in IDC's Mobile Technology and Tracking
team.
"It was not long ago that shipments into mature markets, including
Japan, North America and Western Europe, consumed the majority of
devices shipped worldwide.
"More recently, however, device shipments into emerging economies
in Asia/Pacific, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East,
Africa and Latin America have surpassed shipments to mature
markets, and the difference between the two continues to
grow."
IDC expects this trend to continue as mature markets reach
saturation, and as emerging markets with much lower "teledensity"
provide opportunities for handset vendors to attract first-time
users.
"In addition, the time to set up a mobile network is much shorter
and less expensive than the time to set up a landline network,
propelling cellphone shipments further," said Llamas.
"Finally, mobile phones are seen as both a practical necessity and
a status symbol in many emerging markets.
"Together, these economic, technological and social conditions will
continue to drive strong demand for mobile handsets in emerging
markets for some time to come."
The research also noted that location-based services have "come to
life" across many regions, with Nokia's acquisition of Gate5, a
supplier of mapping and navigation services, reinforcing this
trend.
Meanwhile, the so-called 'prosumer' space also received a boost
with the launch of the BlackBerry Pearl from Research In
Motion.
"We believe that the Pearl was a trend-setting device because it
was the first professional consumer release from a company that has
always been associated with strictly business-focused users," said
Ryan Reith, a research analyst in IDC's Worldwide Mobile Phone
Tracking Group.
"It is no secret that the vast majority of people in society use
email, regardless of their profession, and a device like this has
made mobile email more of a reality.
"Elsewhere, mobile TV, which has been talked about for many years,
is finally coming to the forefront in select markets."
Reith predicted that mobile advertising will play a key role in the
adoption of mobile TV by consumers.
From a vendor perspective, Nokia ended 2006 in the same way that it
began the year as the undisputed worldwide leader in mobile phone
shipments.
Having reached a new shipment record of more than a million units
on average each day during the quarter, the Finnish giant
experienced downward pressure on its profits from the same quarter
a year ago.
Despite reaching a record level of shipments during the fourth
quarter, Motorola missed its fourth-quarter profit target
The company acknowledged "challenges" within its product portfolio
mix and its late introduction of 3G devices.
Samsung edged above the 30 million unit mark twice in 2006,
exceeding its sales target for the year. Sony Ericsson took the
fourth spot, beating LG Electronics into fifth.