01 August 2008

Global Mobile Device Market On Course For Bumper Year

The global mobile device market is on course for a bumper 2008, despite the so called credit crunch, according to a report.
 
In the second quarter of 2008, Tier One handset vendors enjoyed year-over-year unit shipment growth of between 15 and 22 percent, according to market research company. ABI Research

ABI Research forecasts that that 301 million units were shipped during the quarter and therefore reaffirms its forecast that the mobile device market will deliver 13% growth to take 2008 annual shipments to 1.3 billion units.

“If there is an economic slowdown, no one bothered to tell the mobile device buying public,” explained ABI Research vice president Jake Saunders. “In particular, consumers in emerging markets in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and South America shrugged off inflation fears to sign up as mobile phone users. These healthy gains in net subscriber additions are stimulating replacement and upgrade sales. In developed markets handset purchases tended to be flat, but those consumers who did purchase dug deeper and paid out more for coveted higher-end handsets and smart-phones.”

“There is admittedly turmoil in the global economy, but the mass market’s fascination with getting the latest and greatest handset shows no sign of abating,” added ABI research director Kevin Burden.