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The prepaid scene tends to be littered with the lower-end of the mobile product spectrum, but Virgin Mobile CEO Dan Schulman says that will be changing in the near future. He said in the next three to five years, the smartphone market share will comprise up to half of sales (currently holding about %20), and Virgin Mobile will be there to provide the cheap, flexible, month-to-month plans that are appealing to those on a shoestring budget.
“Things like value and flexibility are moving to the forefront,” he said. “I think the economy is helping people to appreciate our model.”
From the sounds of it, BlackBerry will be moving down the ladder over the next year, and other manufacturers are likely to follow suit in order to nab low-hanging fruit. Virgin’s Helio acquisition is a definite sign that they’re looking to incorporate more feature-rich devices while keeping rates low, but their bread and butter will likely remain cheap-o flip phones for the next little while.
[via CIO]
About The Author
Simon Sage
Simon Sage’s education largely surrounded writing, technology and online community, leading him to begin his blogging career at www.BlackBerryCool.com and to quickly discover a vibrant and active community surrounding BlackBerry and mobile technology. In exploring RIM’s platform, he has learned what enterprises are looking for in mobility as well as what makes the innocuous BlackBerry so appealing to them. Recently Simon’s been covering RIM’s gradual move into an already-crowded consumer market, and the impact of burgeoning challengers, such as the iPhone, as well as long-time leaders, like Nokia, on BlackBerry’s advancement. With plenty of content under his belt, Simon will be branching off a bit to see what other smartphone manufacturers are working on while still using BlackBerry as a barometer. At IntoMobile, you can count on his posts being even-handed, well-informed and thought-out.
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Hannah
