One billion cell phones
The mobile phone has become such an integral modern-day accessory that annual sales of the device could hit a record 1 billion this year. Rachel Dornhelm reports.
TEXT OF STORY
SCOTT JAGOW: Cell phone companies must be doing something right. A new report says a billion cell phones will be sold around the world this year. Rachel Dornhelm has more.
RACHEL DORNHELM: The numbers suggest one in seven people around the world will buy a cell phone this year.
Technology research firm IDC made the forecast after the top five mobile vendors reported record product sales for the 3rd quarter.
IDC analyst Ryan Reith:
RYAN REITH: Any industry where you can ship any type of device whether it be widgets or it be handsets in the quantity of a billion is very significant.
Consumers in emerging markets are pushing the trend. Cell sales in India alone could nearly triple this year.
Reith says consumers in places like the US used to update their phones every 2 years. Now it’s every 18 months.
REITH: It’s not all phones being lost and phones being broken. It’s people saying, you know I want that next handset because it can do function A, B or C that I need, or just because there’s still that cool factor.
Reith says there are clear signals 2007 will be another year of explosive growth.
I’m Rachel Dornhelm for Marketplace.