Handset Market Shows Signs of Life

Despite being tied to the ailing telecom industry, the worldwide handset market is rebounding from its worst year ever, according to a recent IDC report.

Handset shipments increased globally by 1.8%, according to research by Framingham, Mass.-based IDC. In 2001, shipments had dropped by 4% from 2000 levels. And this year’s upward trend is expected to continue. IDC is predicting a 9.5% growth rate over the next four years, with numbers growing from 391 million in 2002 to 606 million in 2006.

”A wireless revolution is waiting in the wings,” says Kevin Burden, program manager for IDC’s Smart Handheld Devices unit. ”when mass wireless adoption occurs, it will result in a paradigm shift comparable to that created by the World Wide Web. However, until that happens, handset vendors must continue to research and develop enhanced features and functionality that will drive higher average revenue per user.”

Burden is predicting that modest growth in the handset market will come from first-time buyers and new subscribers to emerging markets. However, replacement sales in mature markets will be the key piece of the overall market growth.

Any kind of market explosion, according to Burden, will depend on the development of next-generation networks, along with compelling content and applications.

While digital handsets grow in market and mindshare, analog handsets will fall out of the market by 2003, IDC predicts. And shipments of 2.5G handsets will surpass 2G handsets by 2005.

RELATED NEWS AND ANALYSIS

• Ethics and Artificial Intelligence: Driving Greater Equality

  FEATURE |  By James Maguire,
  December 16, 2020

• AI vs. Machine Learning vs. Deep Learning

  FEATURE |  By Cynthia Harvey,
  December 11, 2020

• Huawei’s AI Update: Things Are Moving Faster Than We Think

  FEATURE |  By Rob Enderle,
  December 04, 2020

• Keeping Machine Learning Algorithms Honest in the ‘Ethics-First’ Era

  ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By Guest Author,
  November 18, 2020

• Key Trends in Chatbots and RPA

  FEATURE |  By Guest Author,
  November 10, 2020

• Top 10 AIOps Companies

  FEATURE |  By Samuel Greengard,
  November 05, 2020

• What is Text Analysis?

  ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By Guest Author,
  November 02, 2020

• How Intel’s Work With Autonomous Cars Could Redefine General Purpose AI

  ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By Rob Enderle,
  October 29, 2020

• Dell Technologies World: Weaving Together Human And Machine Interaction For AI And Robotics

  ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By Rob Enderle,
  October 23, 2020

• The Super Moderator, or How IBM Project Debater Could Save Social Media

  FEATURE |  By Rob Enderle,
  October 16, 2020

• Top 10 Chatbot Platforms

  FEATURE |  By Cynthia Harvey,
  October 07, 2020

• Finding a Career Path in AI

  ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By Guest Author,
  October 05, 2020

• CIOs Discuss the Promise of AI and Data Science

  FEATURE |  By Guest Author,
  September 25, 2020

• Microsoft Is Building An AI Product That Could Predict The Future

  FEATURE |  By Rob Enderle,
  September 25, 2020

• Top 10 Machine Learning Companies 2021

  FEATURE |  By Cynthia Harvey,
  September 22, 2020

• NVIDIA and ARM: Massively Changing The AI Landscape

  ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By Rob Enderle,
  September 18, 2020

• Continuous Intelligence: Expert Discussion [Video and Podcast]

  ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By James Maguire,
  September 14, 2020

• Artificial Intelligence: Governance and Ethics [Video]

  ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By James Maguire,
  September 13, 2020

• IBM Watson At The US Open: Showcasing The Power Of A Mature Enterprise-Class AI

  FEATURE |  By Rob Enderle,
  September 11, 2020

• Artificial Intelligence: Perception vs. Reality

  FEATURE |  By James Maguire,
  September 09, 2020