Canalys have crunched the number and produced some definitive smartphone sales stats for Q2 for EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa). Always interesting reading, the highlights this time are that 38% of devices had built-in GPS, 58% had built-in Wi-Fi and 13% had touch-screens. Nokia shipped almost 9 million smartphones in this region alone, with 71% market share. 7% is the share of RIM and HTC, more or less in joint second place. Apple are lumped in with others, but may prove a contender in the future, of course.
Read on in the full article.
Only that 38% of the smartphones sold have GPS. It doesn't doesn't mean usage of GPS has generated 38% the revenue.
Steve, you haven't said that, but just wanted to reiterate this.
Actual revenue from GPS should be determined by the sale of Nokia Maps guidance service.
People may have bought the phones with GPS but may not have used it at all.
I'm most interested by this statistic: 42% of smartphones sold last quarter did NOT have Wi-Fi. In other words almost half of people are willing to buy a smartphone that relies entirely on its mobile phone connection for internet access.
Only that 38% of the smartphones sold have GPS. It doesn't doesn't mean usage of GPS has generated 38% the revenue.
Steve, you haven't said that, but just wanted to reiterate this.
Vsuraj, I think Steve was getting excited about a more general point. If GPS is already in that many smartphones, then it could become a much more mainstream feature in the future than it is now. GPS in smartphones used to be a really niche nerdy thing on high end models, but its appearance on mid-range models like the Nokia 6220 may open it up to an even wider audience.
You're absolutely right that it's still not a huge industry, but if it spreads into even the cheapest phones it could become as big as text messaging. The excitement is to do with its future potential.
For me one of the properties of a modern smartphone is wifi.... Thus 58% is a bit low
For me one of the properties of a modern smartphone is wifi.... Thus 58% is a bit low
That's exactly my point, maybe there's less demand for it now?
If you have reliable and cheap access to 3.5G, Wi-Fi isn't actually that useful.
I wonder if any phones will have Wi-Fi in 5 or 10 years time?
Tzer2 wrote:I'm most interested by this statistic: 42% of smartphones sold last quarter did NOT have Wi-Fi. In other words almost half of people are willing to buy a smartphone that relies entirely on its mobile phone connection for internet access.Vsuraj, I think Steve was getting excited about a more general point. If GPS is already in that many smartphones, then it could become a much more mainstream feature in the future than it is now. GPS in smartphones used to be a really niche nerdy thing on high end models, but its appearance on mid-range models like the Nokia 6220 may open it up to an even wider audience.
You're absolutely right that it's still not a huge industry, but if it spreads into even the cheapest phones it could become as big as text messaging. The excitement is to do with its future potential.
Tzer2,
Sure. There's lot of potential and it could convert to good business in short time.
But in places like India, there should a very reasonable price to get hooked on to it. I have 3 months free trial for Nokia maps now which I am using a lot in my city but I don't think I'll upgrade to the full service if I am going to be charged around 70 euros per year (that's what the nokia maps site says).
There would be many people who'd buy mobiles with GPS but wouldn't use them.
phones with mp3 players are very popular here because all music can be downloaded from the web for free and distributed. iTunes / Nokia music will not have many takers. Same with GPS services.
Tzer2 wrote:That's exactly my point, maybe there's less demand for it now? If you have reliable and cheap access to 3.5G, Wi-Fi isn't actually that useful. I wonder if any phones will have Wi-Fi in 5 or 10 years time?
wifi means uPnP, connectivity to a secure office network, a home network. It a means high bandwidth (upload) connection, it means low battery drain! I would expect in the future that techniques like WiMax will prevail and there will be frequencies reserved for private (nano-cell) and commercial (long-range) use.