MIC: 614 M. Smartphones to be Shipped in 2012

Taipei, Jan. 5, 2012 (CENS)--About 452 million smartphones were shipped in 2011, and the volume is expected to grow 35.8% to 614 million units in 2012, according to the Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (MIC) of Taiwan's Institute for Information Industry.

Shipments of Android-platform smartphones in 2011 were about 206 million units, winning market share of 46% and making Android the largest operating system for intelligent mobile devices. Android's share is expected to rise to 50% in 2012, MIC said, compared to iOS' 19% and Windows Phone's 13%.

In the pursuit of higher subscriber numbers, MIC said, the market is expected to be dominated by Apple, Google and Microsoft camps, with fierce competitions also between non-telecom companies such as Amazon and Facebook.

P.C. Lin, MIC's senior analyst, pointed out that in the future companies would utilize the cloud services to develop diversified application products, as well as try more aggressively to pursue technological breakthroughs.

Currently, the penetration of smartphone subscribers globally is about only 14%, but the rate is expected to grow clearly when budget-priced, or under-US$300 smartphones hit the emerging markets. In 2012, the penetration is estimated to reach 17% and jump to 40% in 2016, MIC said.

The institute also predicted that in 2012, the market shares of Nokia and RIM will continue to drop to 15.6% and 8.6%, respectively, with that of Apple and HTC to rise to 18.7% and 10.9%, respectively. Samsung is expected to win a market share of 21.7% in 2012.