ABI: New Launches Help Mobile Phone Markets Finish Strong in 2008
August 4, 2008 // Published as a news service by IHS
Some impressive mobile phone product launches between now and late 2008 will help the world's mobile handset markets close out the year with strong sales, according to ABI Research.
Apple's second-generation (2G) iPhone has just gone on sale, generating as much buzz as its predecessor, analysts said.
Research in Motion (RIM) is expected to debut important new BlackBerry models soon and other handset vendors will add their best efforts as the second half of 2008 progresses.
Such "iconic" models generate a lot of interest around the handset industry and get consumers thinking about replacement.
According to ABI Research director Kevin Burden, 2008 should still be a very good year for the global mobile phone market. "While Q2 [second quarter] performance figures are still preliminary until finalized at the end of July, early indications do not point to an aggressively weak quarter," he said.
"Historically, the second half of the year has always outperformed the first, and despite nearly global economic problems, a second half lift is still expected, although likely lower than the near 20% increase the worldwide market has seen in recent years."
Analysts said one of the strongest drivers for new handset adoption is the design trend over the last two years toward greater simplicity. "A lot of advanced technologies and applications have been built into phones, but there have often been technical or ease-of-use barriers that prevented wide adoption," Burden said.
"The trend now is about making better use of what we have, rather than introducing a flood of new services and network features. That's going to go a long way toward ensuring users' acceptance of new phones and new applications."
Many usability issues will also be progressively worked out as the industry increasingly moves toward standardized operating systems. Analysts said proprietary real-time operating systems can be painful to manage for operators, as well as for users.
Open operating systems will continue to migrate down phone vendors' product lines, increasing the penetration of devices using standardized and predictable platforms and boosting overall ease of use.
Source: ABI Research.