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Shipments of WiFi-enabled mobile phones will double in volume by the end of 2010, compared to January 2008, and that growth curve is expected to continue through 2013, according to ABI Research.
This data clearly shows WiFi technology will continue to penetrate deeper into mobile handsets over the next five years due such factors as increased consumer awareness and demand, new operator business models, and increased value for mobile phone makers.
While Nokia leads the market in WiFi-enabled handsets due to the sheer volume of its portfolio, WiFi models only represent a small fraction of the range. In contrast, every Apple iPhone has WiFi and due to its ease of use, more iPhone users — as many as 75% — are using their Wi-Fi regularly. Contrasting again, HTC’s handset lineup is 80% WiFi-equipped, but only 10% of its users are employing the WiFi capability.
However, industry analyst Michael Morgan says there few challenges to WiFi’s continued growth. “One obstacle is the glacial pace of IEEE standardization in the areas that address voice over WiFi usage. Another is the growing carrier interest in femtocells. While they have their problems, femtocells do provide an alternative to improving in-building coverage without the need for WiFi capable handsets. Although Wi-Fi access points are already installed in many homes and business, the carriers may ultimately push to have femtocells installed at these key locations,” he added.
In WiFi’s favor are the facts that as flat rate data plans increase, carriers can leverage WiFi capable handsets to offload data intensive applications, improve in-building coverage, and offer new services to new markets.
As usual, more information about ABI Research’s study titled “Wi-Fi Capable Handsets” is available from their website.
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.
