This IDC study presents IDC's updated 2005?2009 forecast for Western European mobile phone shipments including traditional mobile phones and converged devices. A review of performance in 1H05 is presented, including vendor and country analysis, followed by the IDC forecast, which examines future shipments for traditional mobile phones and converged devices by air interface and technology.
According to Geoff Blaber, research analyst, European Mobile Devices, "In 1H05 the mobile phone market grew by 14% to 73.8 million units, fuelled by contract renewal cycles, handset upgrades, and consumer demand for feature phones boasting rich multimedia features. While 3G will drive consumer demand for devices in 2005 and 2006, IDC predicts either flat or negative growth for standard mobile phones between 2006 and 2009 as increased data consumption and positioning of converged devices as media solutions designed for specific applications such as music or imaging, increases the total proportion of converged device shipments."
