Abstract
This IDC study looks at the worldwide mobile phone market, which is poised for certain growth, with emerging markets driving shipments of mobile phones forward and replacement handset opportunities taking place globally. In addition, the converged mobile device (CMD), a subset category of mobile phones, will gain greater salience throughout the forecast period as mobile data consumption sets into the social fabric of mobility.
"Having crossed the 1.14-billion-unit mark in 2007, worldwide mobile phone shipments will continue to grow, albeit at a slower pace, throughout the forecast period," says Ramon T. Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC' s Mobile Device Technology and Trends team. "Slower growth should not be confused with fewer opportunities, as 1+ billion units worldwide each year can attest. And, as the mobile phone morphs from communications device into mobile data device, many changes are in store for the market, making it a hot one to observe in the coming years."
Table of Contents
- Table of Contents
- IDC Opinion
- In This Study
- Methodology
- Primary Data Sources
- Secondary Sources
- IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker
- Methodology
- Situation Overview
- 2007 Market Review
- Regional Realities
- United States
- Western Europe
- Asia/Pacific (Excluding Japan)
- Japan
- Rest of World
- Air Interfaces
- 2G
- 2.5G
- 3G
- 4G
- Regional Realities
- Market Developments
- Motorola Slips to Number 3
- Meeting Demand and Developing Segmentation Within Emerging Markets
- Rise and Rise of the Prosumer and the Converged Mobile Device
- Apple iPhone
- Nokia Reinvents Itself
- Google Announces Android
- The Coming Data Revolution
- Increasing Number of Location-Based Services Providers
- Rising Tide of Advertising-Based Mobile Services
- MNO and Device Vendor Partnerships Under Pressure
- Multimedia Capabilities Expand But Battery Remains a Bottleneck
- Intellectual Property Rights Were a Mess in 2007
- Vendor Insights
- Nokia
- Samsung
- Motorola
- Sony Ericsson
- LG Electronics
- Other
- Figure: Worldwide Mobile Phone Shipment Share by Vendor, 2007
- 2007 Market Review
- Future Outlook
- Emerging Trends
- Emerging Markets as Targets for High-End Devices
- The Rise and Rise of the Converged Mobile Device
- Nokia' s Next Step?
- Reemergence of the Multimedia Phone
- Device Vendors Are Ill Advised to Assume the Death of the Channel, Also Known as the Operator
- User Interfaces
- Build-Your-Own Mobile Devices
- Forecast and Assumptions
- Table: Worldwide Mobile Phone Shipments by Region, 2007-2012 (000)
- Table: Worldwide Mobile Phone Shipments by Air Interface, 2007-2012 (000)
- Table: Key Forecast Assumptions for the Worldwide Mobile Phone Market, 2008-2012
- Worldwide
- United States
- Western Europe
- Asia/Pacific (Excluding Japan)
- Japan
- Rest of World
- Air Interfaces
- 2G
- 2.5G
- 3G
- Worldwide
- Market Context
- Table: Worldwide Mobile Phone Shipments by Region, 2005-2012: Comparison of December 2007 and March 2008 Forecasts (M)
- Figure: Worldwide Mobile Phone Shipments, 2005-2012: Comparison of December 2007 and March 2008 Forecasts
- Emerging Trends
- Essential Guidance
- Learn More
- Related Research
- Synopsis

