In-Stat Research: The Worldwide Emergence of Low-Cost Android Smartphones
In-Stat expects unit shipments for low-cost Android smartphones to reach almost 340 million worldwide in 2015. According to In-Stat, low-cost Android handset segment will cause some fragmentation in the Android platform. Low-cost Android smartphones will most likely be released with Android 2.2 or 2.3 because these versions offer a good blend of features with modest memory and processor usage. The Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) release requires more memory and processor demands, which makes the new version less attractive for low-cost Android devices.
In-Stat published their research in their report, Less is More: The Worldwide Emergence of Low-Cost Android Smartphones. The 33-page pdf report looks at Android in-depth and the problems that Google faces as it moves into the low-cost arena. The obstacles are also explored in-detail, as are the markets where low-cost Android smartphones will dominate. The $3,495 research report includes forecasts for smartphone shipments, Android smartphone shipments, low-cost Android smartphone shipments by region, country-by-country view of the smartphone market, and bill of materials (BOM) for processor, touchscreen, other components.
In-Stat Research Findings
- Low-cost smartphone area is Android’s to lose
- The low-cost market could get much more competitive, especially as other OS vendors begin to target the space
- The low-end low-cost smartphones generally stick with EDGE and processors running at 600MHz speeds or less, and a single-core EDGE chip sells for well under $10
- Smaller phone manufacturers will sometimes purchase from the gray market where component manufacturers typically don’t pay licensee fees, royalties, and taxes for the products they produce
- Early competitors in the market include Huawei, MicroMax, Motorola, Samsung, Spice, and ZTE
More info: The Worldwide Emergence of Low Cost Android Smartphones
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