News

8 November 2010

 

Asia-Pacific helping push global handset shipments to 1.34bn in 2010

Global shipments of mobile handsets are expected to total 1.34bn in 2010 and should maintain their momentum all the way to 2015, which should see more than 1.7bn in shipments, according to ABI Research’s 'Mobile Device Shipment Market Data' study.

“The Asia-Pacific region currently makes the largest contribution to global handset sales,” says industry analyst Celia Bo. “Sales are projected to increase 9% this year compared to 2009, and will account for 38% of total shipments,” she adds. “China is clearly a major source of handset demand, but it is not the only one. India and Indonesia are also expanding their domestic demand.”

The Indian market is expected to grow 24% year-on-year from 84.3 million handsets in 2009 to 104 million in 2010. Similarly, Indonesia is not insignificant. Many of its 240 million people purchased 33 million handsets in 2009, and that is expected to surpass 37 million by the end of 2010. Both markets have traditionally been fertile ground for Nokia distributors and dealers. In those markets, the Finnish manufacturer has enjoyed a market-share well above its global average.

Nokia has been very effective in producing ultra-low-cost handsets that are robust and user-friendly and at the right price-point. However, Nokia has seen its market-share steadily eroded in the mid to high tiers as India’s and Indonesia’s aspiring middle classes purchase high-end feature phones and smartphones. Vendors such as Samsung, LG and RIM have been net beneficiaries.

“A number of local handset vendors such as Micromax and Spice Mobile in India, and Nexian and SPC Mobile in Indonesia, are intent on catering to low-end and mid-tier end-users,” notes VP & practice director Kevin Burden. “Their game-plan is to push the envelope on providing increasingly feature-rich handsets at aggressive price-points.”

See related items:

Handset market grows to 346.2m in Q3, while Samsung gains market share

Mobile handset shipments to reach 1.43bn in 2011

Global handset shipments exceed 321 million in Q2/2010

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