According to the folks over at Juniper research, annual sales of smartphone devices will rise by 95% to over 300 million between 2008 and 2013. As smartphones become more and more mainstream, software and applications are no doubt drawing in new users that are adopting smartphones at a much earlier age. Facebook, Twitter, and all sorts of other social apps are hugely popular, especially on smartphone devices like the iPhone 3G and the BlackBerry Bold. The newer devices on the market today are fast becoming personal ‘lifestyle’ devices where people can store, share and document (audio, video, etc…) their life on-the-go, all from their handset. ‘Dumb’-phones look out, there will still be a place for you, but the smartphone is set to rule with an iron fist in the years to come.
Author of the report Andrew Kitson noted:
“The process of evolving handsets into Internet-centric, highly personalised mobile computers is well underway. Changes in the design and form of mobile devices, such as the inclusion of large touch-based displays, have been taken to their limits. Looking ahead, the shape and form of next-generation devices will most likely be led by software and content, rather than hardware, as vendors such as Nokia strive to make their devices highly personalised and rooted firmly in the online environment.”
By the year 2013, 23% of all new handsets will be smartphones. This is up from 13% in 2008.
[Via: DigiTimes]