Life looks good for the mobile devices market in 2010, from continued demand for smartphones and the introduction of the much-anticipated Google Inc. (GOOG) phone, to heavier Netbook adoption. But providers must be sure to address a problem AT&T Inc. (T) already faces on the East and West Coasts: network data capacity. Analysts say if operators avoid network congestion, the result will be strong sales as the mobile market eschews the lingering recession.
That’s what research firm TNS found in a recent survey. In its annual Global Telecoms and Insight Study, TNS predicts a “perfect storm” for mobile device purchasing and usage over the next year. And the industry, said Tom Buehrer, TNS senior vice president, “stands to make out handsomely.”
Here’s why: Consumers have far more confidence in smartphones now than they used to, and they like what they see on the market. To that end, 53 percent of Americans and 55 percent of Canadians plan to buy a mobile phone in the next six months, up from 24 percent in the United States and 19 percent in Canada during this time last year. Touchscreen phones are garnering the most attention – 20 percent of U.S. consumers and 28 percent of their counterparts in the Great White North plan to buy a device that’ll have their fingerprints all over it. Still, QWERTY keyboard devices remain popular – 23 percent of U.S. buyers and 19 percent of Canadian buyers will choose those.
From the handset side, iPhone maker Apple Inc. (AAPL) is indeed expected to remain the dominant smartphone player. But it’s likely to face some stiff competition from Google, which is slated to release its long-awaited phone soon. The so-called Nexus One is said to be an unlocked GSM device running the Android 2.1 mobile operating system. Buyers could use the handset on any GSM network – this will have the most impact overseas, analysts say, where GSM is most prevalent. T-Mobile is the one U.S.-based service provider rumored to have a contract with Google.
New products bode well for manufacturers, retailers and users. But operators have work to do if they want to keep profiting from data, which now accounts for the majority of their wireless revenue. They’ve got to keep up with the exponential increase in data demand or risk incurring the wrath AT&T is suffering from its 3G subscribers. iPhone users in particular are consuming so much data that their top-dollar devices suffer long download times and phone calls drop often. AT&T has tried to chastise customers for, well, using their smartphones and other mobile broadband devices, but the blame really falls on the service provider; it has failed to expand its network in pace with data usage.
“The sheer number of phones on the market means that network quality is deteriorating as operators struggle to cope with data overload,” said TNS’ Buehrer.”
To read the full, in-depth article on our sister site, xchange, including how Google could upset the mobile landscape by overturning the operator-user subsidy model, click here or on the source link below.