Analysts say cell phone companies have good reason to be optimistic as they showcased their latest high-end devices at CTIA Wireless 2009 this week.
Samsung is upbeat about its second-half launch of Android-based phones for Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) and T-Mobile; meanwhile, Nokia (NOK) executives say their new strategy of catering to each U.S. carrier individually already is paying off after its debut of the E71x smartphone with AT&T.
Motorola Inc. (MOT) and Sony Ericsson, on the other hand, maintained such low-key profiles at the CTIA show that it’s hard to say whether these two once-formidable market players will regain their top standing.
Still, positive buzz over smartphones is not misplaced, even in a recession, according to analysts.
“Smartphones still compete on hardware features that support key apps like photography or video viewing, but software and applications that enable a user's preferred mobile uses have an increasing influence on device selection – personalization will be king,” Richard Webb, directing analyst at Infonetics, explained in a media release. “For instance, the Android platform may be a work in progress, but the first handset to use it, the G1, is attracting high levels of interest, and future models are likely be optimized for key Web applications like social networking.”
Indeed, Infonetics expects smartphones to outperform their counterparts during the downturn, showing “modest growth” in 2009. Then, from 2011 to 2013, the segment will post double-digit annual revenue growth, the firm found in a recent study. In fact, smartphones will be the sole part of the mobile phone industry to maintain annual sales growth over the next five years, analysts said.
That’s good news for the likes of Nokia, Samsung, LG, Symbian and BlackBerry, all of which have overtaken former leaders Motorola and Sony Ericsson.
