Disqus
Smartphones are the new pink, or whatever color it is that’s “hot” these days. As if the iPhone’s “mass-marketization” of the smartphone wasn’t proof enough, new data from IDC confirms that smartphone shipments continue to grow while overall cellphone shipments continue to decline. Global cellphone shipments slipped 15.8%, making for just 244 million handsets shipped in the first quarter of 2009. Compared to the 290 million units shipped in the year-ago Q1, it’s clear that the mobile phone market is feeling the economic pinch. But, if you’re a smartphone manufacturer, things aren’t all that bad. Smartphone shipments grew 4% in Q1 2009!
Supply chain issues related to the weak global economy and depressed consumer demand were blamed for the lower-than-expected Q1 shipments. But, the silver lining here is that smartphone demand continues to defy economic conditions. The popularity of the smartphone segment has even prompted Viewsonic to try their hand at making a 3G smartphone. If the smartphone market continues to grow, which it very well should (in fact, one day all phones will be “smartphones”), Viewsonic may succeed. That is, unless they “pull a Garmin.”
About The Author
Will Park
Will hails from The City of Angels - Los Angeles, California. He spends his time playing with his numerous gadgets and looking forward to seeing what future holds for mobile technology. An avid promoter of a fully "digital" life, he promotes the widespread adoption of truly mobile, paper-less living. He dreams of the day when he can go completely digital. No more snail mail, paper receipts, bound books, notepads/spiral notebooks, credit cards, hard currency. He's a digital warrior - fighting for the converged life. He is an idealist and a realist - he has a perfect view of what the world should be but knows that the world is not perfect. Can we ever hope to see Will's dream become reality? We'll see...
