339 Million Low-Cost Android Smartphones to Ship Worldwide in 2015

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., October 21, 2011- In many parts of the world, the typical Android smartphone, selling for $400 to $500, is out of reach for many consumers that currently have a feature phone or perhaps no phone at all. These potential smartphone owners currently only have one OS choice in the low-cost category, (under-$150) and that is Android.

New In-Stat (www.in-stat.com) research forecasts that unit shipments for low-cost Android smartphones will approach 340 million worldwide in 2015.

“The low-cost Android handset segment will cause some fragmentation in the Android platform,” says Allen Nogee, Research Director. “Most low-cost Android smartphones are likely to be released with Android 2.2 or 2.3, since these versions are a good blend of features with modest memory and processor usage. The Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) step-up in memory and processor demands makes this release less attractive for low-cost Android devices.”

Recent In-Stat research found:

• The low-cost smartphone area is Android’s to lose.  This market could get much more competitive, especially as other OS vendors begin to target the space.
  
  
• The low-end low-cost smartphones generally stick with EDGE and processors running at 600MHz speeds or less, and a single-core EDGE chip sells for well under $10. For our purposes, low-cost means smartphones that are $150 or less.
  
  
• Smaller phone manufacturers will sometimes purchase from the “gray market” where component manufacturers typically don't pay licensee fees, royalties, and taxes for the products they produce.
  
  
• Early competitors in the market include Huawei, MicroMax, Motorola, Samsung, Spice, and ZTE.

Recent In-Stat research, 

Less is More: The Worldwide Emergence of Low-Cost Android Smartphones

(#IN1104911WH),looks at the history of the low-cost smartphone market, and how we got where we are today. The report looks at Android in-depth and the problems that Google faces as it moves into the low-cost arena. The obstacles are also explored in-detail, as are the markets where low-cost Android smartphones will dominate.

Forecasts include:

• Smartphone shipments
• Android smartphone shipments
• Low-cost Android smartphone shipments by region
• Bill of materials (BOM) for processor, touchscreen, other components
• Country-by-country view of the smartphone market

  This research is part of In-Stat’s Mobile Devices service, which provides analysis and forecasts of the market for mobile communications and computing devices, including cell phones, smartphones, MIDs, tablets, mini-notes/netbooks, and notebooks.

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For more information, contact:

Allen Nogee, Principal Analyst
Phone: 480-609-4538
Email:anogee@in-stat.com

Rick Vogelei, Marketing Manager
Phone: 480-483-4476
Email:rvogelei@in-stat.com

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In-Stat’s market intelligence combines technical, market and end-user research and database models to analyze the Mobile Internet and Digital Entertainment ecosystems. Our insights are derived from a deep understanding of technology impacts, nearly 30 years of history in research and consulting, and direct relationships with leading players in each of our core markets. In-Stat provides its research through reports, annual subscriptions, consulting and advisory services to inform critical decisions. Technology vendors, equipment manufacturers, service providers and media companies worldwide rely on In-Stat to support critical business, product and technology decisions.

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