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Global cell sales boom in `03
Amsterdam, Feb 05: Global sales of mobile phones exceeded even the most bullish expectations in `03 and market researchers said the handset industry will enjoy an even better `04 as new, fancy models catch on.
Amsterdam, Feb 05: Global sales of mobile phones exceeded even the most bullish expectations in ’03 and market researchers said the handset industry will enjoy an even better ’04 as new, fancy models catch on.
Mobile phone sales to consumers topped 510m units in ’03 and will exceed 560m units in ’04, according to the big three research groups that track the world’s biggest consumer electronics segment of mobile handsets including Gartner Dataquest, IDC and Strategy Analytics.
“It is an exceptionally strong market. It’s much stronger than the handset makers themselves have indicated,” said Gartner analyst Ben Wood. Most handset makers said the total market was around 460m units in ’03, while market researchers themselves had expected 500m, up from around 420m in ’02. It is the first year since ’00 that handset demand rose more than 10% as the sector strove to cater to both emerging markets and choosier customers in rich economies.
Cell phone producers are now benefiting from booming emerging markets such as China, India, Brazil and Russia, where they sell relatively cheap handsets to first-time buyers. They also target existing customers in the US, Europe, Japan and South Korea, who are replacing old models.
Bureau Report
“It is an exceptionally strong market. It’s much stronger than the handset makers themselves have indicated,” said Gartner analyst Ben Wood. Most handset makers said the total market was around 460m units in ’03, while market researchers themselves had expected 500m, up from around 420m in ’02. It is the first year since ’00 that handset demand rose more than 10% as the sector strove to cater to both emerging markets and choosier customers in rich economies.
Cell phone producers are now benefiting from booming emerging markets such as China, India, Brazil and Russia, where they sell relatively cheap handsets to first-time buyers. They also target existing customers in the US, Europe, Japan and South Korea, who are replacing old models.
Bureau Report