Smartbooks and MIDs Will Take Market share from Smartphones

Ultra Mobile Devices are ready made to plug a hole between PC notebooks and smartphones according to a new report and as a result Ultra Mobile Devices are set to surge to sales figures of 35 million by 2014.

In addition, X86 processors, Atom-heritage and ARM processors which will form the powerhouses behind the Ultra Mobile Devices are also examined. The report released by Forward Concepts forecasts both device and chip forecasts within the emerging market.

Key points within the report are :

New devices such as Smartbooks and Netbooks will drive of PC and Handset Mobile broadband with a combined increase of subscribers of over 1.5 billion in 2014. Mobile Internet Devices and Smartbooks with 3G or 3G LTE mobile broadband will and reach 65 million sales in 2014.

Just as Netbooks have taken market share from Notebooks, Smartbooks & MIDs will take market share from Smartphones. Netbook users will place more emphasis on pervasive Internet connectivity that will drive increasingly higher penetration of embedded 3G (and later LTE) capability. This, coupled with increasing operator traction, will drive the growth of 3G Netbook category at a 124% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) reaching 34 million units in 2014 reaching a 45% 3G/LTE attachment rate.

The report also provides detailed forecast of 3G/LTE Netbooks and Smartbook/MID shipments broken down by region and cellular air interface technology. Forecasts for standalone and combination wireless peripherals, that include WLAN, Bluetooth, GPS and FM, for each device category is also provided.

LTE networks will begin to emerge in 2010 and will be the fastest growing air-interface technology in 3G/LTE Netbooks and Smartbooks/MIDs reaching 5 million and 4.1 million units, respectively, in 2014.

“The study provides detailed forecasts of Netbooks/Smartbooks & MIDs and compares them with our forecasts of Notebooks and Smartphones, as well. The individual integrated circuits forecast in the study are predicted to total $9.7 billion in 2014 and the report provides detailed forecasts for application processors, basebands, RF transceivers, and for the myriad of ancillary chips that make up the devices.” Will Strauss, Forward Concepts’ President said.

Credits: 3g.co.uk