A decline in the growth rate of the smartphone market is observed based on market data collected by infocom.gr, however, it should be noted that the decline recorded in value and number of devices in the overall mobile telephony market is significantly greater than that of smartphones. "At the same time, the unit value of "smart" phones is also decreasing and it is clear that smartphones will dominate, as data transfer via mobile telephony is increasing more and more.".
Specifically, according to market data collected by infocom.gr, the following emerges: "On an annual basis (May 2013 to April 2014), mobile phones were sold with a total value of approximately 396 million euros, compared to 463 million euros in the period May 2012 – April 2013. The total market for mobile devices, in other words, decreased by 14.5%. However, the decrease is much greater in conventional devices, where the value of sales fell by approximately 40% (51 million euros, in the period May 2013 to April 2014, compared to 84.7 million euros). Revenue from the sale of smartphones, in the same period, decreased by 8.9% (344.7 million euros compared to 378.4 million).
In the four-month period January-April 2014, the value of all devices sold in Greece also decreased by 16.1% (116.5 million euros compared to 139 million euros). The decrease in the value of smartphones was 13% (103.1 million euros compared to 118.6 million), while the decrease in conventional devices was 35.5% (13 million euros compared to 20.2 million).
In terms of the number of devices and by year (April 2013 – March 2014), 55% of the devices sold were smartphones (1.460 million units) compared to 47% a year earlier (1.505 million). In terms of number of units, smartphones sold were approximately 3% fewer than a year earlier. However, total devices (smartphones and conventional) sold were 17% fewer.
In the January-March quarter of 2014, smartphone shipments fell by 16.2% (319,400 compared to 381,600 in the same quarter last year). This is a much faster rate of decline than on a year-on-year basis.
In the overall smartphone market, based on quarterly data (January – March 2014), “budget” devices are the largest piece of the sales pie: Smartphones priced under 150 euros accounted for 47.6% of sales, while smartphones priced under 200 euros accounted for 70.3% of sales. Smartphones priced over 500 euros accounted for 9% of the market, compared to 12.5% in the same quarter last year. The shift to increasingly cheaper devices is clear.
In terms of operating systems, Android's dominance is undisputed. In the January-March 2014 quarter, 79% of smartphones sold in the country were Android, compared to 80.9% in the same period last year, 10.9% iOS compared to 10.7% and 7.4% Windows Phone compared to 4%. On an annual basis (April 2013 to March 2014), 80.3% of devices sold were Android, compared to 79.3% a year ago. The decline in the Symbian and Blackberry operating systems is significant.
The data and forecasts from the global market are typical of where we are going: Global data traffic will increase 10 times between 2013 and 2019. A smartphone user is expected to quadruple their monthly usage. In 2014, mobile data traffic from mobile devices will surpass the traffic generated by laptops and tablets. Video streaming is growing by 55%, year-on-year and represents 50% of total data traffic.
Also, based on data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) for the international market, presented by the Hellenic Association of Information and Communications Enterprises (SEPE), this year 1.2 billion smartphone devices are expected to be sold, an increase of 23.1% compared to last year, while in 2018 they will reach 1.8 billion, which represents an annual growth rate of 12.3%. According to IDC analysts, the challenge for smartphone manufacturers is to balance the ever-increasing demands of users, while keeping the selling prices of the devices low.
For operating systems, analysts estimate that Android will remain the leader of the smartphone market, with a market share of 80.2% in 2014. IDC analysts give a positive assessment for devices with Android operating system for the entire reporting period, estimating that by 2018 it will lose minimal market share, mainly to the benefit of Windows Phone.
Source: kathimerini.gr
