Skip to main content

European Converged Mobile Device Market

According to the latest market data from IDC, the Western European mobile device market (including standalone handhelds and converged devices) grew by 25 percent year on year in the opening quarter of 2006, as total shipments reached 3.2 million units.

Significantly, the handheld market failed to recover from the dramatic decline in 4Q05, as shipments of just 549,000 units represented further negative growth of -21 percent year on year, with only Fujitsu Siemens registering positive growth. Additionally, disappointing growth of 43 percent and shipments of 2.67 million units for converged devices meant market performance fell below expectations.

"As anticipated, continued migration towards converged devices combined with a decline in dedicated GPS unit ASPs caused a second consecutive quarter of negative growth for handhelds," said Geoff Blaber, senior research analyst, European Mobile Devices. "Given the dramatic ASP declines in 2005, shrinking margins mean few vendors can resort to further price cuts as a mechanism to invigorate growth, leading IDC to believe that vendor market withdrawals are likely in 2006."

With the converged device market continuing to rely largely on S60 shipments in consumer segments to drive growth (Symbian OS accounting for 72 percent of shipments) in 1Q06, growth was disappointing at 43 percent year on year as portfolio transitions for vendors such as Sony Ericsson and Motorola, combined with a lack of new product introductions, curbed first quarter growth. Furthermore, while Windows Mobile enjoyed market growth of 77 percent, growth remains inhibited by a lack of support from OEMs with the capability to complement the volumes supplied by Taiwanese vendor HTC.

"Despite a disappointing opening quarter for the converged device market in 2006, IDC predicts strong growth in subsequent quarters as the consumer market responds to the introduction of compelling solutions running Symbian OS, including multiple Nokia N range offerings and the Sony Ericsson W950. With a dramatic expansion of enterprise-class devices from Nokia, Sony Ericsson, RIM, and Windows Mobile vendors in 2Q and 3Q and the abundance of highly segmented mobile email solutions, IDC believes the Western European converged device market can still exceed 20 million units in 2006," said Jean-Philippe Bouchard, senior research analyst, European Mobile Devices.

Popular posts from this blog

How Cloud Fuels Digital Business Transformation

Across the globe, many CEOs invested in initiatives to expand their digital offerings. User experience enhancements that are enabled by business technology were a priority in many industries. Worldwide end-user spending on public cloud services is forecast to grow 21.7 percent to a total of $597.3 billion in 2023 -- that's up from $491 billion in 2022, according to the latest market study by Gartner. Cloud computing is driving the next phase of digital transformation, as organizations pursue disruption through technologies like generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), Web3, and enterprise Metaverse. Public Cloud Computing Market Development "Hyperscale cloud providers are driving the cloud agenda," said Sid Nag, vice president at Gartner . Organizations view cloud computing as a highly strategic platform for digital transformation initiatives, which requires providers to offer new capabilities as the competition for digital business escalates. "For example, generativ

Digital Talent Demand Exceeds Supply in Asia-Pac

Even the savviest CEO's desire for a digital transformation advantage has to face the global market reality -- there simply isn't enough skilled and experienced talent available to meet demand. According to the latest market study by IDC, around 60-80 percent of Asia-Pacific (AP) organizations find it "difficult" or "extremely difficult" to fill many IT roles -- including cybersecurity, software development, and data insight professionals. Major consequences of the skills shortage are increased workload on remaining digital business and IT employees, increased security risks, and loss of "hard-to-replace" critical transformation knowledge. Digital Business Talent Market Development Although big tech companies' layoffs are making headlines, they are not representative of the overall global marketplace. Ongoing difficulty to fill key practitioner vacancies is still among the top issues faced by leaders across industries. "Skills are difficul

Mobile Device Market Still Awaiting Recovery

The mobile devices market has experienced three years of unpredictable demand. The global pandemic, geopolitical pressures, supply chain issues, and macroeconomic headwinds have hindered the sector's consistent growth potential. This extremely challenging environment has dramatically affected both demand and supply chains. It has led to subsequent inflationary pressures, leading to a worsening global cost of living crisis suppressing growth and confidence in the sector. In tandem, mobile device industry stakeholders have become more cautious triggering market uncertainties. Mobile Device Market Development Operating under such a backdrop, the development of mobile device ecosystems and vendor landscapes have been impacted severely. Many of these market pressures persisted throughout 2022 and now into 2023, borne chiefly by the smartphone market. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, worldwide smartphone shipments in 2022 declined 9.6 percent Year-over-Year