In 1999, the first ever?smartphone was released and sold in Japan. By the late 2 Triple 000s, they became all the rage all over the world. Guess how many smartphones have in 2013 alone?
Two thousand thirteen was the first year ever one billion smartphones have?sold, maybe a little more. We can thank the cheap smartphone for this. These phones, some going for in the low $100s, are especially popular in rising markets China and India. Overall, smartphone sales increased over 38% from 2012 sales. Samsung leads the globe in smartphone shipments, maintaining a double digit lead over Apple. Though Apple had a great Q4 2013, this was the lowest year to year increase since they launched their iPhone back in 2007.
I wonder how many of these cheaper smartphones in the US were sold last year. In China and India, where many are still woefully poor, a $150 cell phone is a major status symbol. I’m just throwing that out there. In China, China Mobile, their biggest telecom firm, is offering iPhone 5s and 5c. But the economy is struggling worldwide, and phone companies took a gamble with inexpensive smart phones. That gamble is paying off. I just wish I had the stats for North American sales. What will 2014 hold for the smartphone industry?