Mobile device numbers to double by 2014
updated 04:00 pm EST, Mon December 21, 2009
Phones to face netbook, media player challenges
The number of mobile devices shipped each year should roughly double within five years, ABI Research says in a new estimate. In addition to determining that about 1.2 billion phones, media players, modems and netbooks will have shipped year, the analyst group predicts that these numbers will jump to 2.25 billion by 2014.
The leap is believed to come on the back of growth in every other area besides cellphones. Despite the seeming popularity of smartphones, the entire sector is believed saturated enough that it will grow at only about 4 percent. Modems, such as 3G adapters, should grow at about 40 percent each year while "ultra mobile devices" like media players and mobile Internet devices (MIDs) will grow as much as 67 percent every year. These devices have a small share now but may catch up as cellular carriers shift towards non-traditional data plans.
Many providers, including most North American carriers, now often subsidize netbooks and are expected to provide similar treatment for tablet devices.
