Tuesday, June 3, 2014

IDC Predicts Shipment of a Billion-Plus Smartphones in 2014

June 02, 2014  Digital Workstyles Channel


By David Gutbezahl, Digital Workstyle Services Contributing Writer

Millions of people are walking the earth with the power of a small computer just sitting in their pockets. The technological revolution of smartphones has been one embraced by much of the world, creating one of the world's largest and most lucrative industries. In 2013 alone, 968 million smartphones were sold worldwide, accounting for 53.6 percent of all mobile phones sold. More people are going for smartphones than basic mobile phones.

That was just in 2013, and as 2014 continues to truck into the summer, the numbers are looking to jump up even further. International Data Corporation, a market analysis organization focusing on information technology, released a mobile phone forecast for 2014 this May with some interesting numbers for the mobile phone market.

According to IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone (News - Alert) Tracker, smartphone sales are expected to blast off in 2014. IDC expects 1.2 billion smartphones to be shipped out worldwide this year, which would be a 23.1 percent increase from last year. This number is expected to grow exorbitantly over the next four years, reaching 1.8 billion by 2018.

It is no surprise that Android (News - Alert)-based phones, of which there is a massive variety, are completely dominating the smartphone market. 80.2 percent of smartphones shipped are expected to be Android, with iOS claiming 14.8 and Windows Phone only getting 3.5. Blackberry is expected to receive a measly 0.8 percent of the market share.

IDC (News - Alert)'s report also examined the prices of smartphones, making predictions that the average sales prices of smartphones will be dropping. In 2013, the average sales price was $335, while this year IDC believes it will go down to $314. As sales increase, the price is expected to drop even further, and by 2018 IDC predicts they will fall to $267. Good news for anyone that can wait four years for a new smartphone.

Android already has the 2018 prices beat though, with their average sales price being at $254. The low costs, alongside variety, can be a good explanation for their popularity. Android's share was cut by a very small amount, as one competitor, Windows Phone, seems to be grasping a little more of the market.

Windows Phone, as a newer entry into the smartphone industry, only holds a small grasp on the market, but as the phones are developed further and Microsoft (News -Alert) pushes them onto the global market they should see a good amount of growth. IDC predicts a 29.5 percent growth since 2013 for the Windows Phone.

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