The global mobile industry will boom in 2008, with growth rate of 11% on account of launch of new handsets, changing lifestyle and low tariff rates.
According to Gartner, the global sales of mobile phones is expected to surge 11% this year to 1.28 Billion Units from 1.15 Billion in 2007, as reported by IndiaInfoLine.
Mobile sales in the first quarter of 2008 stood at 294.3 Million Units and are estimated to reach 300-305 Million Units in the second quarter of 2008. The mobile phones sales in the Asia-Pacific region is projected to rise by 17.9% to 472.5 Million Units in 2008 against 2007, while in North America, the sales are anticipated to near 185.7 Million Units, an increase of 5.3% from 2007. Moreover, the sales in Western Europe are projected to total at 188 Million Units and in Japan, it will reach 47.7 Million Units this year.
The high sales forecast on the global mobile industry for 2008 is based on the release of new handsets in the second quarter of 2008. The new wide range of options is luring people towards the market. Besides, the growth of global mobile industry is largely influenced by sales trends in emerging markets due to the fact that developed economies like Western Europe, Japan and North America have already reached saturation.
Also, mobile devices have become an integral part of people’s lifestyle; as a result, their sales have increased. Another important factor that are making mobile phones extremely popular among people is low tariff rates along with cheap handsets, making mobile services affordable to all.
The global mobile industry is currently growing at a moderate rate but considering the global economic environment, the industry might face some challenges in near future. Moreover, some big mobile vendors will face challenges in near future as their market share could decline and design innovation becomes extremely challenging.
According to a Research Analyst at RNCOS, “The global mobile industry has leveraged favorable business conditions to grow rapidly in the next few years. Due to high growth in the global mobile industry, several economies will benefit immensely but tough competition may trouble the players even if they are churning increasing profits from the high growth in the global telecom sector.”
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