Smart phone market trends report 2010/2011

Canalys is the leading global provider of smart phone market data and analysis. The world’s leading hardware and software vendors and mobile operators rely on Canalys for comprehensive market share data, market forecasts, trends analysis and advice. Smart phone market trends report 2010/2011 logo

Despite the global economic downturn, worldwide smart phone shipments grew a solid 16% year-on-year in 2009 – far outpacing the wider mobile phone industry. Competition in 2010 has become fiercer than ever; the barriers to market entry are lower than ever before, and the leading mobile phone vendors and operators are showing strong commitment to and unprecedented investment in the smart phone segment. Vendors are launching more products with lower price points and pushing smart phones into the mass market, with OS platforms such as Symbian, Android and the newly introduced bada from Samsung. Network operators are struggling to establish the best strategies to open up new revenue streams, while having to manage complex partnerships with strong hardware vendors, as well as other companies that have entered their world with mobile service revenue aspirations of their own, such as Google.

The Canalys annual mobile trends report, now in its ninth successful year, pull together, in a concise format, qualitative analysis of key market trends, top-level market share and shipment estimates for the leading vendors, comparative analysis of vendors’ performance and evaluation of their strengths and weaknesses, and forecasts for future market development.

This report is a unique work designed to help companies formulate their strategies in this rapidly changing environment. Contents include:
Smart phone market overview by region

With separate sections on North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific and EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa), Canalys presents key smart phone market data points and discusses the main vendors’ activities and performance. Important underlying market factors are considered, including changes in the mobile operators’ networks and strategies, subsidies, product launches and the relationships between device vendors and operators, as well as the effect of the recent economic instability.
Device and application trends

Over the last 18 months the smart phone market has seen substantial changes in the input method used for operating devices. Canalys analyzes the impact of touch-screens on the smart phone sector and how trends in software and hardware user interfaces are shaping market development, as well as looking at where future growth will come from. The challenge of product differentiation is explored as well as the impact of new categories of devices, such as the pad, on the mobile phone market.
Future trends

In this year’s report, Canalys explores how the smart phone market will evolve, which vendors are best placed for success, as well as which regions offer the most opportunities and what factors will drive growth in the significantly different regions. The activities of local and international brands are considered across the regions, and the report explores the unique dynamics of markets such as China, India and South Korea.
OS vendor SWOTs

Canalys analysts discuss the relative merits, challenges, opportunities and threats of the eight leading smart phone platforms. Understand which platforms are best equipped to capitalize on the growth in the smart phone market, and identify prospects for each platform in a highly competitive market place.
Smart phone vendor and mobile operator PoV analysis

The performances and strategies of the leading global smart phone vendors and the world’s leading operators per region are analyzed using the unique Canalys Point of View (PoV) tool. The vendors assessed are: Apple, Fujitsu, HTC, Motorola, Nokia, Palm, RIM, Samsung, Sharp, and Sony Ericsson. The operators analyzed are: AT&T, China Mobile, NTT DoCoMo, Telefónica, Verizon and Vodafone.
Definitions and methodology

Understand how Canalys classifies different products and how the market data is collected and processed. The Canalys segmentations are accepted as the standard for the industry and are used by the major vendors in analyzing the market and planning for the future. Canalys tracks these markets globally on a quarterly basis to ensure that the views it presents on future market development are well-founded and take into account the latest dynamics.