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]