A new study by In-Stat/MDR says that smartphone shipments will show a 44% compound annual growth rate over the next five years, with the big jump coming in 12-18 months. Key factors include falling size and price while functionality integration between voice, e-mail and PIM programs is improving. A recent survey conducted by the company also claims that only 9% of respondents had a smartphone, and Sprint PCS users are the most likely to be willing to pay more for a smartphone over their current device. What the sample group was for the survey is unclear, however, making the results of limited applicability.

In-Stat also believes that Symbian smartphones will continue to dominate that market segment, although by 2006 Microsoft's Smartphone platform will be number two. That's not surprising given that the palmOne Treo, currently the best-selling intelligent wireless device by a wide margin, is properly classified as a communicator, not smartphone. How In-Stat/MDR classified palmOne's offerings for this study is unclear.


Source : InfoSyncWorld