With 435 million mobile phones having been sold around the world in the second quarter of 2013 – the most recent available statistics at the time of writing – anyone can see that this is a market which offers huge potential for the companies involved.
This, of course, doesn’t take into account the fact that they will have spent massive sums of developing their products and either manufacturing them themselves or having this outsourced, as Apple does.
Both of these factors clearly point to why, when a company launches a new mobile phone, the stakes, and especially the potential gains, are so high.
Smartphone fever
Yet from the performance of the shares of the technology companies involved in smartphone design as of mid-2013, many are struggling to convince investors that they can maintain the incredible momentum which their businesses have undoubtedly enjoyed as the world has become gripped by smartphone fever.
And the markets where that fever is still spreading at a rapid rate are Asia-Pacific, Latin America and eastern Europe where, according to research firm Gartner, sales rose by 74.1, 55.7 and 31.6 per cent respectively, year on year.
Such sales growth would be considered incredible in many business sectors, and furthermore, they have been achieved in what are historically proving to be very tough economic times.
[Recommended reading: Top Smartphone Buying Tips for Beginners]
Competition
This is why the major manufacturers of smartphones are so cagey about their new product development. Naturally, if they are trying to build new products which have features that are either much better than those of their rivals for example a larger smartphone screen, or can do things which other phones simply can’t, then they have to keep their work secret for as long as possible.
On the other hand, though, the companies know that people are keen to get their hands on a device which does something which their previous one couldn’t, or simply does what that phone does, but is so much better at it.
From the phone companies’ point of view, therefore, they would like us all to be looking to replace our handset as soon as the next model comes along. So they have to offer enough incentives in terms of improvements in the technology and user experience to persuade us that our old phone is ‘so last year’, and the new one is really the bee’s knees.
Yet, from a practical point of view, technology only occasionally makes a really massive step forward, and the rest of the time, it is inching ahead slowly, and refining what has already been done.
Such is the case with mobile phones, yet for the manufacturers, it is a very short distance between being at the head of the field, and becoming an also-ran.
[Read also: How Mobile Phones Have Changed Our Lives]
Stand out technology
The ultimate goal for the manufacturers is to produce phones which contain technology which makes us sit up and take notice and we all want to use, yet be able to do this in large enough volumes and sufficiently cheaply to be able to satisfy the people who have invested their money, and in many cases, their whole futures, in betting that they will be successful in this.
And that’s why every new model is given such a huge fanfare. It isn’t just the futures of the people who design and make the phones which are at stake, but ultimately, it could well be the future of everyone who has an interest in saving money so that they can enjoy a comfortable life as they get older.
In other words, the continued success of the smartphone market – and that for technology in general – is good for our economies, our pensions, and the world in general. And in short, that’s why the companies which develop and sell them clamor so loudly for our attention with every new release.
[Image credit: SamsungTomorrow, Flickr]
I think it’s pretty obvious that humans love new gadgets. If you see a smart person or a good looking person holding a brand new phone in their hand, you want to know more about it. The way big smartphone companies promote their stuff is extremely important, maybe more important than new features. I see a bright future for smartphone, tablet and computer manufacturer’s and companies.
I guess maybe they hype it up a little too much or something because all the folks waiting in line for hours to get a new phone, tablet, or what have you are a little crazy if you ask me. I can’t think of a single reason why I would want to stand around for hours just to get it first. I have no problem waiting a few weeks or even months for that matter.
Same thing happens with some of the popular new movies. People wait in line to see it. Not me I can wait a few weeks or even wait until it comes out on DVD for that matter.
People do though. They even camp out over night sometimes.
I like new phones, I always do. However I wouldn’t buy a new smartphone on the first day it launched no matter how intense the publicity or promotion is. I certainly wouldn’t wait in line nor camp out overnight that’s just plain stupid to me. I’m pretty sure the Samsung Galaxy S4 I’m getting weeks later is as good as the ones sold on the first day.
Smartphone market is one of the very few market which is still showing sign of growth with each passing days unlike all other markets which are still in recession all over the world. Only reason for the same is that smartphone companies are working on the innovation factor which attract most of the smartphone customer. People today are buying smartphones just to check what additional feature/technology a particular brand is providing which can be of their use. All people are technology hungry & smartphone manufacturing is the field which is introducing them with the latest innovation & technology coming into the market. That could be the main reason why there is so much hype surrounding these smartphones.
I would just check out the new features at the store via their display set. New features are good, however, not all are useful and we might not always need them. Of course, I do agree with you that many smartphone fans are really crazy about new features and they always MUST have the latest thing. That’s why smartphone companies are doing so well with their businesses, hence making a hell lot of profit from it.
Yes since 2 years there is lot of craze developing for smartphones irrespective of the budget. But they are losing its price within 6 to 12months. I always go for nexus phones where in even a 3 year nexus phone can have latest android os update because it is stock OS from Google only available in nexus. Unfortunately they are not officially available in India.
Consumers would welcome all the exciting new features that came out from different smartphone companies. It’s always good to see healthy competitions going around. Your personal reason in preferring the Nexus could be right since they’re from Google and surely have better advantages in terms of OS updates. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Priya! Hope to see you around.
Those days, the competition between Technology Company is getting bigger and bigger. Especially on Smartphones field. We can see 2 years recently, a mount of smart phones have been released with variety of functions are developed. Smartphone manufacture is the field who producer know what they can do with their phones, new function, new design, and users and their curiosity.
I think this is very nice article. Thanks for your sharing.
Stephan