3D functionality and technology innovations such as dual-core processors will drive the high–end smartphone market over the next five years, according to Juniper Research.
Today’s smartphones features like the app store connectivity and touchscreens will be present in over 80% of handsets shipped in the U.S. by 2015. Western Europe and Far East & China are also demonstrating significant take-up, while several less developed markets, such as parts of Latin America and Africa, will all but miss out on the smartphone revolution. On the other hand, the global mid-tier market, characterised by feature phones and standard handsets, will continue to contract.
Further findings from Juniper’s “Next Generation Smartphones” report include:
- The take up of video calling using the mobile device will be limited even with the launch of Facetime by Apple.
- Competition will drive smartphone pricing down, which is always a good news.
- The combination of the smartphone and the app store will result in substantial increases in data usage over the smartphone device
The report concludes that several well-known players such as Nokia, Research in Motion and Microsoft face challenges not only to bring new operating systems to the table as quickly as possible, but also to make sure that developers embrace them…
As usual, more information about the report is available from Juniper’s website.