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According the recent forecasts from ABI Research, EDGE-enabled handset shipments will reach 148 million in 2006, representing 14% of the total mobile phone market.
Principal analyst Stuart Carlaw pointed out that EDGE is downplayed in the market because it cannot really provide a mobile broadband experience and is therefore not seen as being at the cutting edge of cellular handset evolution. Furthermore, it is viewed purely as an evolutionary step on the GSM ladder, and industry attention is very much focused on the newer technologies such as W-CDMA and HSDPA, plus operators do not actively report EDGE numbers in the public domain.
However, research director Jake Saunders, argues that this lack of general market attention belies the real importance of the role EDGE plays in delivering mobile services today and will play in the effective delivery of content in the network of tomorrow.
Apart from the sheer volume of EDGE handsets, the ABI Research analysts believe that the industry as a whole should pay more attention to this market because EDGE is the only choice for some carriers today to support any type of near-acceptable mobile broadband experience, especially those with no 3G licenses or those waiting for 4G.
About The Author
Dusan Belic
Dusan has been using smartphones since their introduction and is now following the latest trends in the industry. The "convergence" is what he's most excited about, and writing about it is the next logical thing to do. He thinks that using a smartphone is what everyone who cares about their time should do. In addition to his interests in mobile phones, Dusan also loves to experiment with the latest web and mobile 2.0 services. The idea of accessing and managing your information from any device no matter where you are simply amazes him. Whether it's an online to-do list, note taking service or a video sharing social network, he's there to try it out. He admits though, he's still searching for the ultimate web-based organizational tool, which "sings" perfectly with the mobile PIM application. Dusan used to run SymbianWatch.com which later became part of IntoMobile. He lives in Serbia, South-East Europe, from where he edits the site on a daily basis.
