The potential for growth of smartphones in Latin America claims to be much higher as compared to other regions. Based on a new report from Pyramid Research, it is known that in 2014 alone Latin America will ship in 48 million handset units. It is also speculated that over the next five years the region’s smartphone segment will offer up to 150 million handsets units.
Omar Salvador, Senior Analyst at Pyramid and author of the report believes that this market is likely to become one of the most vital sources of data revenue growth over the next five years.
“The market is still in its infancy, representing only 3 percent of total handset unit sales in 2008; globally the figure was 12 percent. However, Pyramid predicts the segment will grow from 7 million smartphones sold in 2009, representing 5.4 percent of total handsets sales, to 48 million in 2014, or 30 percent of the total,” stated, Omar Salvador
He mentioned, “Given that Latin America’s mobile subscriber growth rate declined from 24 percent in 2007 to 19 percent in 2008, operators are more interested than ever in increasing their ARPS and encouraging smartphone uptake is an excellent approach to reaching that goal. Vivo, the leading player in Brazil, recently highlighted how crucial the smartphone base is to its data revenue growth, while smartphone vendors are stepping up competition in the region with aggressive tactics, including handset bundles, new models, expanded entry-level portfolios, and close cooperation with operators.”
He further mentioned, “These growth drivers, supported by the growing 3G availability in Latin America, will push the Latin American smartphone market up toward the global average of smartphone handsets as a percentage of total handset sales.”
It is reported that over the next five years the region’s smartphone segment will represent an opportunity of 150 million handset units. The Smartphones in Latin America: Big Opportunities for Operators and Suppliers is a 14 page report provided by the Research group. It scrutinizes the reasons of the prospective growth of the smartphone market segment in Latin America by analyzing strategies used by operators and vendors. The report is a reflection of the five-year forecast on smartphone adoption in Latin America and studies the vendor positioning. The focus is based on three cases namely Nokia, Research in Motion and Apple. Furthermore, it probes the appropriate moves by operators and strategies of major dealers in cell phones together with marketing campaigns and bundles.
The response of people in Latin America to smartphones seems to be overwhelming. The interest of operators in smartphones is mounting and is also leading to grave competition among vendors. If this scenario where the competition among vendors and operators deepens, the service bundling will get more aggressive with other effects. As a result, prices of basic smartphones will dip below $100 and touch screen phones will be offered in the mid-level price category. According to Pyramid the smartphone market is likely to dominate up to 39 percent of total handsets that will be sold in the year 2014.