Sales of smartphones will exceed 420 million devices in 2011, accounting for nearly 28 percent of the entire global handset market, according to IMS Research, the leading independent provider of market research and consultancy to the global electronics industry. With the introduction of more affordable “entry-level” smartphones, IMS Research predicts that annual sales will surpass one billion devices by the end of 2016, accounting for one of every two mobile handsets sold.
“But despite the higher margins for smartphones, and the seemingly insatiable consumer appetite for converged devices, it is clear that not all OEMS are equally positioned to capitalize on this market trend,” says Josh Builta, analyst in IMS’ Mobile Technologies Group. “For instance, LG, despite being the third largest OEM in the world, has offered a fairly limited smartphone portfolio in recent years, a factor that resulted in the company reaching less than a three percent share of the total smartphone market in 2010.”
