By Ed Lieber
The Apple iPhone’s firm grasp on the high end of the smartphone market has helped spark a price war among carriers and handset makers set to duke it out for the growing midrange.
The much larger high end is set to shrink, while the smaller midrange is expected to double, according to Strategy Analytics. Midrange sales should skyrocket from $7 billion to $28 billion by 2014 (for phones between $100 and $200 wholesale). Conversely, high end smartphone sales (over $300 wholesale) will fall from $56 billion this year to $50 billion in 2014.
Analysts say both Nokia and RIM, key players in the midrange market today, have lost smartphone share to the iPhone and Android phones. Nokia’s global share fell to 32.7% in the third quarter from 38.3% a year ago; RIM fell to 15.3%; Apple’s share is 17%, says IDC. Android smartphones accounted for more than 25% of smartphone sales in the third quarter, according to Gartner.
Nokia, the world’s largest cellphone maker, is now offering its mid-tier Nuron smartphone for free to online shoppers and priced at $130 for prepay T-Mobile customers and the BlackBerry Curve 3G 9330 is $50 when purchased online with a Verizon Wireless contract or $365 without a contract.
It’s a good time for consumers in the market for a smartphone to do some shopping.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
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