European mobile phone market grows 7%
The Western European mobile phone market has grown seven per cent since last year, reports market research firm IDC.According to IDC, the Western European mobile phone market, consisting of traditional mobile phones and converged devices, saw shipments of 414m units, compared to the 38.5 shipped in the corresponding quarter of 2005.’Further movement of WCDMA handsets into accessible price points including pre-pay bundles represented 21 per cent of total shipments, and this, combined with the widespread introduction of highly compelling feature phones sporting comprehensive feature sets in innovative form factors, drove healthy renewal cycles in 2Q06, while the emergence of highly competitive pre-pay bundles invigorated demand at the low end,’ said Jean-Philippe Bouchard, senior research analyst, European Mobile Devices.
These numbers reflect a solid growth, says IDC, despite signs that this growth in the traditional mobile phone market is unsustainable as subscriber saturation in most Western European markets moves beyond 100 per cent and operators continue to scrutinize costs and downsize portfolios.
Growth in the converged device market was only slightly larger than that of traditional mobiles, despite the fact that converged devices have consistently outperformed traditional mobile phones. IDC believes that the reason for this is that most consumers view many features offered by converged phones to be unnecessary.
As a result, consumer-centric converged devices are competing directly with high-end feature phones, which in terms of the most visible technical specifications such as cameras, are generally deemed indistinct from smart phones by most consumers. Converged devices are defined as voice- or data-centric handsets that are capable of synchronizing personal information and/or email with server, desktop, or laptop computers.
Source- http://www.digitalmediaasia.com
Technorati : Handset, Mobile, WCDMA, Western Europe
Ice Rocket : Handset, Mobile, WCDMA, Western Europe
