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Smartphones: Plenty Buy Them, Few Use Them |
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Written by Adam Gosling
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Tuesday, 21 November 2006 |
It's Hardly News, But Smartphone Sales Are Up. Unit shipments of smartphones nearly tripled between 2004 to
2005, and now they've increased another 50 per cent in the first half of 2006,
says industry number cruncher In-Stat.
It won't surprise many to hear that.
But if you are in the
business, In-Stat is selling a report that might be of interest: "Smartphone
2006: Whose Definition Is It Anyway?"
There's little doubt these devices are selling well, but
where to next. The researcher says points out that with the escalating battle
for the smartphone operating systems (US smartphone users are evenly split
between Windows, BlackBerry, and Palm, says In-Stat), there's increasing competition,
but...
"There are two reasons for caution, in spite of
spectacular sales," says Bill Hughes, an analyst at In-Stat. "Many
smartphone users continue to carry the very devices that smartphones are meant
to replace.
"Also, users have been slow to add new applications to their
devices. Most users have only downloaded a few applications," he notes.
Even business users, who you would expect to more from are
not entirely happy with their new lot. Those that received their smartphone
through their work are three times more likely to carry a second phone for
personal calls than other users.
But, hey. The reports also notes that many smartphones sold
in 2006 serve as a combination phone and PDA, while others have even more capabilities,
but "Most of the smartphones sold globally, however, only enable the user to
access the capabilities of basic wireless phones."
Not sure how they qualify as smartphones then. Whose
Definition Is It Anyway?
As well as the results of a survey into the perceptions and
attitudes of smartphone users and non-users, the research includes worldwide
shipment forecasts by OS through to 2010 and a review of the major
manufacturers of smartphone operating systems.
Find this research online here. The
price is US$3,495.
www.in-stat.com
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