Now that we are done with holiday festivities, it is time to start predicting trends for new year. The new year is likely to be a bumper
year for 3G and 4G phones. According to a latest report released by ABI Research, these phones are likely to account for about half the handsets to be sold during 2012. The report says, "The outlook will yield growth in the order of 8%, netting 1.67 billion handsets shipped worldwide by the end of 2012. Particularly notable is for the first time, 3G and 4G handset shipments will capture more than 50% of total handsets shipped."
Smartphones are also gaining lead over feature phones. During 2011, handset manufacturers had started promoting smartphones over dumb phones. Samsung is clearly leading the pack, with HTC and not far behind. Even, hard-up companies like Nokia and RIM are also doing well in emerging countries in Asia and Africa. Companies like Apple are also now giving their attention to developing markets. Apple is now distributing its phones in various South American markets including Brazil.
Smartphones now have a strong foothold in the North American market. North American market showed 14 percent year on year growth for 2011. Kevin Burden, vice president and practice director of mobile devices with ABI Research said, "North America may only represent 15% of feature and smartphone units shipped globally, but due to the high proportion of high-end smartphone sales, it constitutes 40% of total smartphones sold by value."