“Consumers embraced a variety of innovative handsets, especially those with colour screens, rather than delaying replacement purchases because of an ongoing lack of compelling mobile data services,” said Bryan Prohm, a senior analyst at Gartner Dataquest.
Subsidies by mobile operators have remained largely unchanged so it is the desirability of new products and the marketing which is behind this sales increase. The trend is set to continue this year and Gartner Dataquest is predicting growth of between 10 and 15 per cent.
The study makes encouraging reading for operators but mobile penetration is approaching saturation in many Western markets and the developing world seems to offer the most potential for expansion. According to a new report from Pyramid Research, Brazil, India, Indonesia and Russia will all experience high levels of growth in the next five years.
However, they will be eclipsed by China where the mobile population is expected to double by 2007, making it the largest market in the world with two and a half times as many users as the US.
